


My Forgotten Home

by orphan_account



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Animalistic, Blood, Blood and Torture, Feral Behavior, Feral Possessive, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Kagune Sex, M/M, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Possessive Behavior, Rough Sex, Sad and Sweet, Smut, Yaoi, male-preg, possessive, protective
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-03-21 21:30:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 35,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3705343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hideyoshi's given up on finding Kaneki. Finally deciding to try and live his own life then wasted it on looking for somebody who obviously doesn't want anything to do with him. Well, that's what he thought anyway, turns out he can't be anymore wrong. Two months later, a fresh-white haired Ghoul demands entries and he finds himself swept up in a world of true Ghouls and violence. Hideyoshi struggles to come to terms with the shocking twisted truth that had been done to his body.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Soaked Smirk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone~ Well...What can I say? I wanted to try write another MPreg story and this came out. I hope you all like it. It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to do. I watched Tokyo Ghoul the other day and I just fell for it. I'm a big Kaneki/Hideyoshi buff. 
> 
> I just have a few things to roll past you all. Extra information so you don't get confused when reading the story. Um. Yes, it still will be based on episode 12 of season 1. I'm going to change the time-loop. So Kaneki has been missing for six months, um, probably being tortured for half of it. During those months, Hideyoshi had already joined the CCG, seeing if he could find any leads. Um. This was a difficult decision, but I choice to have Hideyoshi not have a good relationship with the other Ghouls. Mostly because I think he would feel to indifferent and unwelcomed in the coffee shop. 
> 
> This will change once he is...pregnant. Hehe~ I love saying that. 
> 
> I have a lot of events planned out and all I can say is...I hope you enjoy it at least :)
> 
> Please give a massive thanks to my wonderful beta InfinitePanicAttacks33 for editing this. 
> 
> Warning...Slash. Fluff. MaleonMale. My first hard-core lemon. Oh and mustn't forget the connect of the story! MPreg!

It was a beautiful day considering it was the middle of winter. The ground was covered in fresh snow. It glittered and glowed, making the coldest of hearts smile. People of Tokyo went and spent their day working and taking care of the young children, protecting them from the wonders of the world. Though it had snowed quite heavily the night before, morning came with a warm sun and a bright crystal-clear sky. But the wind was a little brisk and the air was nippy, so there was no way the snow was going to run away any time soon. But that was okay. It blanketed the town beautifully and no one living there was bothered by it at all. Everyone would stop briefly and take the time to appreciate the wonderful scene.

The evening was unbelievably beautiful, with its glowing and sparkling aqua hue and a crisp whiteness eliminating from the slowly appearing moon. The gorgeous moon was just peeking from behind a range of pure white clouds on this particular day, lying upon the blinking black blanket that was the sky. Just the sight of it could warm anyone's heart, but as with every night, the long streets of Tokyo were empty, all except for the creatures of flesh creeping around and teasing helpless humans.

Just as an ear-piercing scream erupted throughout the air, a certain natural blonde, though people didn't believe it, yawned loudly. He lay wearing only his favourite baggy blue shirt and a pair of his deep blue boxers. His soft amber eyes dropped and he grumbled to himself, listening to the soft turn of a page from the other side of the living room.

Clicking his tongue as his head almost slid off of his outstretched palm, he sighed deeply and looked up at the clock. Five minutes. That's all that had passed since the last time he'd checked. Five minutes. So why did it feel like it had been hours? Glancing back at the small television, he pouted. It was such a boring show, and he would have changed it, only there wasn't anything else on that was remarkably interesting.

Craning his head back, he stared with half-lidded eyes at the other person sitting quite happily on the coach. "Kane-ki!" He whined, rolling across the polished wood of his best friend's floor. Said best friend didn't reply to his name being called. Instead, he turned the page of his latest reading material. "I'm bored!"

Sitting almost pleasantly, Kaneki closed his eyes briefly before looking at the fresh page in front of him. His midnight hair caressed his face, framing his deep black eyes as he read the words without so much as smiling at his long-time friend. "Then find something to engross yourself with," He commented somewhat smoothly, almost teasingly.

"But Kanekiiiii, I want you to entertain me!" Hide sighed dramatically and only whined louder when Kaneki chuckled amusingly to himself, resuming in his reading without so much as a glance at his bored friend.

Seeing that his dark-haired friend wasn't going tolerate him, but rather just ignore him outright, Hide rolled over onto his stomach. He crossed his arms underneath his head and watched the annoyingly boring images flash across the screen, his pale lips pressed together, only to pull apart after a few seconds, making a loud and define 'pop'. He wiggled onto his stomach and lightly kicked his legs, for some odd reason feeling highly amused at the popping noise. Hide began to make more 'popping' sounds from his mouth, smiling widely.

Wincing, Kaneki felt his eyes twitch at each and every pop that escaped the blonde's lips. Hearing another 'pop' followed by silence, Kaneki thought Hide had finally gotten over the strange sound that amused him, until another annoying pop fell from the lips. Flinching harshly and clenching the sides of his book, Kaneki closed his eyes and grinded his teeth as another pop filled the air. Normally, it would take a lot more for Kaneki to become annoyed with his dear friend, but for some reason Hide was being extra difficult today.

Inhaling softly, he hunched his shoulders, allowing them to sag. Kaneki calmly closed his book and lightly placed it onto his coffee table. His deep black eyes looked at his friend while his lips pressed into a tight line. He eased himself off the cushions of his coach, looking down at his friend who hadn't noticed him yet.

Edging around the table until he came to Hide's side, he stared down at him with narrowed eyes. Pulling his foot back, he grinned excitedly and brought it forward, pushing the blonde onto his back.

With a startled yelp, Hide looked around with wide eyes before settling them onto the somewhat scary-looking boy standing next to him. "Kaneki! What was that for?" He grumbled loudly, pulling himself up and rubbing his throbbing side.

He hardly had time to process that his quiet friend had just kicked him before a pair of hands shot out and grabbed him by the shoulders. Gasping loudly as Kaneki pushed him backwards, Hide found himself pushed down against the floor again and straddled by his hips. "Um…Kaneki…what are you doing?" he asked innocently, blinking his large eyes up at his friend.

Kaneki smiled warmly at the shorter boy, tilting his head to the side and leaning down to get closer. "You said to entertain you," He whispered, his hot breath tingling against the other's ear, as he ran a warm hand across his skin. Hearing a nice murmur from the now withering body underneath him, Kaneki pulled away, running his other hand across Hide's cheek and lightly caressing the tips of his fingers across the pale flesh before dancing them across his chin and tugging him forward, only to meet him in a kiss halfway.

"Ka-ne-ki!"

The sound of bones cracking filled Kaneki's ears. Something wasn't right. He pulled himself out from his daydream. His body was hissing at him, telling him something was wrong…something was out of place. He almost smiled. Of course something was wrong. When was it not? Kaneki slowly opened his eyes and stared down at the bloodstained tile floor underneath his bare feet.

 _What a nice dream_ , He found himself thinking, imagining the blonde-haired male in his mind's eye. He couldn't remember him clearly, but he knew him, he _knew_ of him. He was special to him, he knew that. His name was Hide and he was his.

He shifted in the stiff chair, his skin prickling from the hardship it had to withstand. Feeling his arms bounded behind his back by chains made his eyes flashed angrily down at his lap. What was the point in staying put? In staying _here_ when he had to find him? Find his Hideyoshi. Something in the pit of his stomach told him there was something he had to do.

"Ka-ne-ki!" The same voice from hours before bellowed out twistedly, the sound of limp squirming bodies filling his ears. He felt the floor shake underneath his black-tipped feet as he heard large feet stomp across the black and white floor. "These are also one of Aogirl's targets for elimination," The deep male voice purred out. "Kaneki! Let me take from you! When we reach the end, let me devour all of you!"

Soft white hairs fluttered around his eyes as he lifted his head and stared up at the masked man. "Hilarious," A feminine fleer escaped from his lips, though it held no amusement. "You really are an inconsequential man."

Feeling the skin around his mouth stretch into a large sickening grin, Jason stared down at Kaneki with burning, swirling eyes. "You truly are fantastic, all right!" He leered, lifting up his hand and cracking his fingers, while hunching his body. "Let me take from you!" he bellowed again, flitting his arms about as his back burst and a pair of sickly purple and red kagune wrapped around his large body. Jason's ratty kakuja sifted in the air, charging directly at the chained up ghoul and slamming repeatedly over the spot where he sat. He stood with his back still hunched, a large smirk pulling at his face as debris and dust filled the area. He shifted his body and slid one hand into his pocket.

 _Kaneki must be squashed by now_ , he thought, _all that's left now is to devour his delicious flesh_.

One step. That's all it took, just one step before Kaneki burst through the smoke and flipped over him, using the chains around his wrists to strangle Jason. Emotionlessly, Kaneki yanked on the chains, arching his body across his back and listening in satisfaction as Jason choked, struggling to breathe and reaching up in vain to scratch at the metal pressing against his throat, threating to rip it apart. "Devour this," Kaneki muttered into his ear, curling his lips back and baring his teeth. In the blink of an eye, he used them to rip through the hardened skin before throwing himself away from the tall beast. He ran the back of his hand across his blood-soaked mouth. "That's foul," He stated, without even looking at the creature above him.

Jason bent his body oddly, panting harshly as he peeled his eyes open. "Wha…You…You…" He gaped, tilting his head to the side and watching in awe as a stream of blood trickled down the side of his face. "You bit me?"

"You tasted almost like the intestines of a fish on the verge of spoiling. Utterly disgusting." Kaneki hummed out, leaving a small red smudge on his cheek as he finished rubbing off the rest of the blood. A tired sigh escaped him as he watched Jason throw his kagune at him once again, swinging them through the air and aiming to slam them down directly where he stood. Kaneki easily dodged the attack, flying through the air as if riding the wind itself, before slipping forward and throwing his leg out in a pathetic attack to the face as a feint.

Jason's large clawed hands shot up and grabbed a hold of the extremely pale leg, using his fingers to dig into the skin, piercing it and forcing little beads of red to seep out. "I'm not letting go!" He bellowed, his throat vibrating as the words crept out.

With half-lidded eyes expressing boredom, Kaneki inched back his other leg. Putting all his weight onto it, he spun around, forcing his other trapped limb to splinter and burst with blood before again using the free one to slam his knee harshly into Jason's face. Not caring that Jason had flown across the room, Kaneki eased himself up, standing still while allowing his twisted leg to spin back around and re-connect itself into place. No pain showed on his face as he looked across at Jason with features expressing weariness and ennui. "You think that after everything else, something like this hurts?" He questioned, motionless, staring at Jason with his endlessly deep mismatched eyes.

"Kill…Kill you…" Jason's voice grunted out from behind the dust flittering around his body. He struggled to force himself up, finding it hard to do so when he saw that his top half was bent awkwardly. He felt himself drop slightly, standing in a frog-like fashion with his head down. "I'll kill you!" He hissed, snapping his middle finger back and allowing his monstrous kakuja to overtake the entire arm and rest of his body. Forming into the shape of two clawed hands, they pulled up over the top of his wide forehead, slipping four fingers into his eyes while the others curled across his cheek. The claw-like kakuja pulled at the insides of his mouth, forcing them to stretch. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" He chanted angrily.

Lazily, Kaneki lifted his right hand and cracked a finger before lowering it once more, his thin lips pressed into a firm line. "I'll chomp you to death!" Jason roared, bloodthirsty. At hearing the words, Kaneki's lips formed into a tiny smile. Arching his lower body more, Jason twisted his now bare feet before lunging forward with a mighty, gut-wrenching scream. "Kaneki!" He shrieked, throwing out his right kakuja-wrapped arm towards the much smaller man. Smile still in place, Kaneki back flipped out of the attack before leaping fully over Jason, who desperately tried to slam his kakuja at him over and over again.

Almost teasingly, Kaneki landed behind him, kicking him in the back of the head and leaping out the way of another oncoming attack. Quickly ducking under the slimy kakuja, Kaneki threw his arms back before delivering a punch to Jason's stomach. The blonde-haired sadist paused mid-step, his mouth opened wide as he let out a pleasure-filled rumble. His kakuja slithered around him before grasping Kaneki around the middle and pulling him into the air like a ragdoll. Like a baseball player, Jason threw Kaneki across the room, watching with sick pleasure as Kaneki's small body smashed into the wall, creating a large explosion that rocked the building to its core.

A tiny snort fell from Kaneki's lips. He slowly stepped away from the debris as if nothing had happened at all. His eyes were still half-lidded as he stared at the ground. A calculating expression passed his face before he came to a sudden stop and stood loosely. His lower back bristled with crimson. The kagune emerged from his skin slowly, yet evenly, until the foxlike tendrils erupted out from behind him. Four of them shimmered brightly and viciously, and eventually the appearances and roughness of the tentacles quickly shook and became smooth as needles. Rapidly vibrating, they moved like angry snakes.

Kaneki lifted up the same right hand as before and snapped his finger again. As soon as the crack filled the air, the tentacles became merciless and locked onto Jason, looking like beasts themselves as they curled around Kaneki with bloodlust.

"Now…" He began, slowly lifting his head, his eyes becoming wide and his lips parting into a large grin that showed his too-white teeth. "It's my turn." His flat voice came out with a sadistic thrill.

Jason panted, his shoulder twitching back and forth before he threw his head back and roared loudly.

The dust cloud burst open and Kaneki leaped through the air, his body twisting easily, as it carried him. He flipped over, two of his kagune holding him afloat while the others barbarously slashed at Jason. His enemy was barely able to block the attacks, before Kaneki's kagune ambushed him, hitting him over and over again, thirsty for his blood and his blood only. The ground erupted as Kaneki threw another attack at the creature below him, causing Jason's body to briefly flop like a fish. Pivoting and moving as if gravity had no hold on him, Kaneki easily dodged each and every attack Jason threw before pushing two of his long kagune up and slamming them down upon Jason's body once more.

Kaneki landed gracefully on the checkered floor, stooped over with his hands splayed out firmly and his four long blood-red kagune pressing against the ground in a hook-like matter. Kaneki watched as the dust cloud parted before pushing himself up easily.

Once it did, Jason launched through it, slamming his kakuja into Kaneki. Using two of his kagune, Kaneki threw himself backwards, avoiding the attack before striking forward in a stormy manner. Thrashing backwards and then forward, delving pummel after pummel, Kaneki easily overtook Jason. He ducked underneath Jason's arm and reached up, ripping apart Jason's kakuja.

"Kaneki!" Jason shrieked, twitching uncontrollably.

Kaneki leaped high into the air, his arms and legs stretching out along with his kagune, before pulling all his limbs in and effortlessly throwing them down. Doing this, his kagune viciously delivered their final blow at Jason. Said beast lay in a crater made from his own body, his arms and legs pulled apart and him too weak to even move. His skin twitched and burned all over, and he struggled to breathe as he lay on the dismantled floor underneath him.

Loosely walking to the edge of the crater, Kaneki peered into it and stared point blank at Jason. Using a single kagune to swipe down at him, he pierced Jason's weak body and the ghoul roared out in pain as his blood splashed out and painted everything near him red.

Kaneki lifted his head again, watching as Jason crumpled in on himself, while he cracked the same finger uncaringly and made another kagune zip towards Jason's body and pierce him for the second time. "What's one thousand minus seven?" he asked, leaning down a little as he spoke in that flat-line tone of his, eyes drooping with apathy.

When the ghoul did not respond, another kagune erupted through the air and tore at Jason's ankle. "I'll ask again. What's one thousand minus seven?" he repeated, and when he again received no answer, Kaneki pulled one of his kagune from Jason's body only to plunge it into his lower back. The once prideful man let out a shriek of pain. "What is one thousand minus seven?"

"N-N-Nine hundred…ninety-three…" Jason grinded his teeth in pain, arching his body as his blood flowed freely onto the ground. "N-Nine hundred…eighty-six…" He struggled to get out, tears falling from his eyes as he spoke. Moving into the crater with ease, Kaneki lowered himself onto Jason back, his kagune piercing into all of Jason's limps. His arms on either side of Jason's mid-back, he listened to the man wheeze out the numbers. His lips twitched downward before he pulled himself back and lifted his left hand, harshly slapping the side of his head and cocking his head to the left.

"You tried to devour me," He spoke, lifting his right hand and cracking another finger before moving it to his ear and pulling out a long and twisting centipede. "So you have no room to complain…if I eat you." He opened his mouth and ripped his teeth through the bloody skin. The foul blood filled his mouth, but regardless of the taste, he kept ripping chunks away, filling his stomach with it. The soft pleas of 'mother' and the chantings of numbers echoed in his ears briefly, before they died down to twisted whines and whimpers…not that Kaneki cared.

His mouth kept moving, and he did not pull back until there was nothing but a lifeless corpse. He stared down briefly at the barely-alive Jason, and then tilted his head away.

Kaneki stood with drooped shoulders, reaching up and wiping the acrid taste from his mouth, the smudge of blood still kissing his pale cheek. Lifting his bare foot, he watched as Jason's blood dripped from it. When he'd seen enough, he climbed out of the crater and made a rather loud and ear-splitting cracking noise with his back.

Kaneki walked away, leaving a trail of red footprints in his wake. He came to a stop near the crumbling wall and cocked his head all the way back, staring bluntly at the ceiling. Lifting the very same hand whose fingers he'd endlessly cracked, he ran it absentmindedly across his stained red lips, his mind quickly returning to the pleasure-filled dream he had in his moment of need. It was a dream, but felt more like memory.

"Hide," He breathed out in a daze, remembering what the boy's name was. His eyes shut briefly, only to spring open moments later when the blonde's face flashed in his mind's eye. He remembered himself and Hide sitting atop a hill. Both were younger, much younger than in his previous dream. Though now that he actually thought about it, he knew it wasn't really a dream. It was a memory, a treasured moment in his life. How could he forget it in the first place?

"No, the better question is where is he now?" A feminine voice purred out. Kaneki stood unmoving, not even fazed as the voice curled around him, gently luring him into his deepest desires. "You want him so bad, you can't stand it. He might be running from us, you know?" Long thin arms reached out of nowhere and wrapped eagerly around the pondering ghoul. He could feel her running her fingers along his torn shirt. "He's our chosen one. We need him, we need to go to him." A see-through image of a familiar woman with long purple pigtails stepped away from him and tugged at his arm. "Come now, quickly. We can do as we like if we hurry."

"As I like?" Kaneki purred out thoughtfully, his body immediately becoming overwhelmed with heat and desire. It twitched and throbbed from the inner lust that made itself known.

A wide hungry smile appeared across the woman's face, a smile that didn't show it's usual thirst for blood, but for something completely different. "He's all yours," She whispered sweetly into his ear, giving him a light push in the middle of his back.

"All…" Kaneki murmured, his eyes becoming dark with the want for something other than flesh and blood. His mind was filled with the thought of a certain blonde as he turned around using the balls of his feet and stalked towards the only way out. It was an image he hadn't seen in almost three full months.

Nagachika Hideyoshi, more often known as Hide by his friends, was a normal boy. Well, about as normal as a nineteen year-old could get. He was an average teen with nothing special about him. He had the normal build for a boy of his age, though he was a little on the scrawny side. He had soft amber eyes that matched his sun-kissed hair, and pale skin disturbed only by the dusting of freckles he had on his cheeks. He was also pleased to say that he had just recently gotten his dream job as a temp working as assistant to a well-respected doctor in the hospital wing.

It was one of Hide's greatest accomplishments. It was a job he'd wanted ever since he was young, and he could still remember when finally, his chance had come along to do it.

Hide had been so determined to make a good impression of himself on his first day, that he'd made sure to shower early in the morning so that he could have time to get ready. He'd brushed his teeth until they were a sparkling white, and he'd made extra sure that he looked up to scratch. He had considered wearing the most fancy piece of clothing he had, but remembered that he had been playfully advised to wear something comfortable, so he'd settled for a pair of smart-looking jeans and a t-shirt. Looking at himself in the mirror, he had to admit it felt strange not wearing his favourite jumpsuit jacket with the bright yellow stripes.

Hearing his alarm beep, Hide quickly pulled himself away from his thoughts. With one last glance at the mirror, the blonde spun around and ran towards the front door. He grinned at the irony of it all when he almost ran out the entrance without his shoes on.

Rolling his eyes, he spun back around and hastily pulled them on. He may not have been in high school anymore, but he supposed habits died hard. In fact, he'd forgotten to wear shoes on his first day of work, and he could still remember the look on everyone's faces when they'd noticed. His boss's face was the most memorable of them all, and even now, nobody had let it go. He was always teased about the incident and it had already been two months since it happened. It had also been two full months since he had given up on trying to find his former best friend.

After searching and always coming up empty-handed, sending messages, and never receiving one back, he had finally quit his search. Well, that wasn't completely true…he had truly given up when his worry and anxiety had begun to affect his health. He knew that his former best friend was hiding something from him, and he was pretty it was that he had somehow become a ghoul. It was beyond him why Kaneki felt the need to hide it. Hide wasn't the type to have turned his back on him if he had been told. No matter what Kaneki was, Hide would have stayed his, erm, boyfriend…his best friend.

It had been his dark-haired lover who had turned his back on him, not the other way around, but if Kaneki wanted to keep his ghoul friends rather than him, then fine. Life would keep going, and Hide decided to try and live it on his own and work hard to become what he had always wanted to be. Besides, Kaneki's friends had never really liked him. He had figured out months ago that the people working at the coffee shop were actually ghouls, and he always found himself feeling like he was a bug under a microscope around them, especially when near that Touka. Hide had always had the premonition that she wanted his head for some reason, but maybe it was just him. He hadn't been to that shop since he had given up his efforts and it felt good to put that in the past. He had quit the CCG as soon as he started looking for a part-time job and had applied at the hospital on a whim.

He did admit that he missed Kaneki. Who _wouldn't_ miss their chosen lover? Even so, Hide refused to spend any more time on somebody who no longer wanted anything to with him. He had even moved flats to be on the safe side, and he wasn't sure if he'd ever forgive Kaneki if the other ever did turn up on his doorstep.

Moving down the familiar street, he walked excitedly towards the large, almost flashy building awaiting him a few blocks down. He paused briefly at the crossroad, rocking on the back of his feet as he watched the flashing lights, grinning wider when they signaled for him to cross. Eventually, after a lot of stumbling and tripping, Hide came across his work placement. It was an impressive building with its wide glass windows and towering white walls that led to a roof in which a large skyscraper was placed. Even somebody like Hide wouldn't deny that it looked spectacular, and that said a lot.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Hide happily entered the building. He stalked towards the sign-in area and pulled at the card hanging loosely around his neck by a lanyard. Carefully, he ran the end of it along the glowing scanner and smiled when the lights flashed, signaling that he had been signed in. He moved his amber eyes around when he felt a sudden chill lick down his spine, but spotted nothing. Hide shivered and shrugged it off as his imagination. Holding his head high, he rushed towards the elevator, anxious to get out of the lobby. He allowed himself a breath of relief when the heavy metal doors slid closed and eased himself against the back of elevator. It had been his first month working at the actual building, but he always felt warm and welcome when he entered the lobby.

Well, that was what he normally felt. Only today, he had sensed piercing eyes following his every movement, up until he had disappeared into the elevator. It unsettled him, and made him paranoid so that he was constantly checking his surroundings. "I'm losing my mind," Hide whispered to himself, firmly running his hands up and down his face while inhaling deeply. No matter how hard he looked, no matter how much he checked, he could never find anyone watching him. Every time he checked, there was nothing, but he could still feel it. Those eyes. All those months of chasing after things must have really messed him up.

He heard the soft chime of the elevator reaching his floor; number ten. Straightening himself and fixing his composure, Hide watched as the heavy doors slid open. He refused to allow this event to get to him. This was his dream job, and he didn't want to leave it simply because of a small feeling of goose bumps rolling across his skin.

Closing his eyes briefly, the blonde moved out into the hall and his expression automatically changed back into his signature bright happy smile. The thought of nothing being wrong crossed his mind as he skipped his way to the lab.

"Nagachika-San." A feminine voice greeted him as he closed the double doors behind him. Their lab was located in a wide hall, and it was filled with computers and other scientific objects. In the midst of it all, sitting on her own in the middle of the room, was a woman with short green curls. She wore a simple blouse with a black mini-skirt, donning a white hospital coat that hung over her body.

Smiling widely at her, Hide nodded. "Ushio-san," he greeted his long-time working comrade warmly. She was nice, but scary at times, and always spoke using a knowing tone. Hide's smile twitched as she turned around and carefully took out a light blue box, placing it by her side. "Ushio-san…"

"Now Nagachika-San, it's mandatory." She spoke without a second thought, her cherry-red lips curling into a small smile of their own. Hearing her words, Hide lowered his head and shook it, wearing a small pout. "Nagachika-San," Ushio said again, her tone coming out stern. Hide immediately speed-walked to the stool across from her, not wanting get his co-worker angry by making her wait. It was better to get this over with.

"I'll be gentle," She cooed somewhat sweetly, reaching out her hand and grinning when he reluctantly placed his right arm into it. His soft amber eyes glanced around the room nervously, and he jolted in his stool when he felt the cool fingers tug his sleeve up.

"So! Ushio-San, how's life!" He blurted out, his eyebrows lifting to his hairline as he desperately tried to put his mind on anything but the big-ass needle she was taking out. "How's baby Saiki-Chan?" He asked, kicking his legs like a child as he asked about Ushio's baby girl.

"She did the funniest thing this morning," Ushio smiled warmly, her eyes twinkling as she thought of her little girl. Her white rubber gloved fingers carefully took out the precious needle. She glanced at Hide, wearing a bright glint within her eyes, before finding a good spot and gently pushing the needle through his skin. "Sorry," She said in mild-amusement when the other jumped, snapping his head around and looking down his arm worriedly, only to pale and groan, cranking his head around to look away. "Yes. Saiki-Chan was so proud of herself for brushing her teeth all on her own. Never mind the toothpaste smeared all over her school dress."

Hide chuckled in amusement, wincing as he felt the needle flicker about inside his arm as it withdrew a healthy amulet of blood. He sucked his bottom lip, feeling the familiar itchiness spark across the area the needle had been. Withdrawing his arm once the vaccine was finished, he rubbed the red skin, almost glaring at the crimson-filled needle.

Ushio carefully, almost as if it was her child, sealed it back into the box. "There. All done," She smiled brightly at him, taking the box away eagerly.

"What do you need my blood for anyway? You'd think you have enough, wouldn't you?" Hide muttered loudly, eyeing the box in her hands before lifting his gaze and locking eyes with her. He noted Ushio carefully placing the box into a built in metal slot that flashed and blinked when the door closed. Hide was more than certain that if the door was to open again, the box would be gone.

Ushio removed her white gloves and ruffled her soft green curls, smoothly smiling at him as she walked back to her seat. Just as she was about to speak, the doors slid open again and a familiar man stepped into the room. "Hikarushimi-Kun," She greeted with a wide smile, watching as the man shoved his hands into his suit pockets and walked towards them.

For a while, there was an eerie silence. Hide found himself looking between the two, and when he began feeling unwanted, he smiled brightly and jumping to his feet. "Well, thank you for, err, sticking another needle into me," He snickered, bowing in respect to the woman with his arms laid firmly at his side. "But I suppose I should be off. I'm sure Kanou-san will be looking for me soon." Just as the happy blonde began to walk past the taller male, he found his arm being grabbed. Blinking in confusion, he turned his head back and looked at him with his eyebrows raised in confusion. "…Hikarushimi-San?" He blinked, cocking his head to the side.

Hikarushimi looked like he had something to say and just when he went to speak, he forced a smile and shook his head. "Have a good day, Hideyoshi," He said, using the young male's first name. Hide most likely would have flushed in embarrassment if he wasn't so weird out. Also forcing a smile, the happy blonde nodded his head furiously and carefully tugged his arm free. "I will. You have a nice day too, Hikarushimi-San," He said, closing the door behind him, missing the look Ushio sent Hikarushimi.

Shrugging to himself, Hide tried to pass off what had happened as strange, but then again, everyone who worked here was kind of strange so it wasn't that big a surprise. Scratching the back of his head, the young male just brushed it off as Hikarushimi being nice and twirled around on the balls of his feet, moving in the direction where his boss worked; Doctor Kanou. The smiling physician was Hide's tutor, teaching the young blonde everything he needed so that he could, one day, follow in his footsteps and become a physician too or maybe even become as respected as him one day.

Coming upon the familiar door, which in all honestly he should have run away from at that moment, the blonde lifted his hand and bravely wracked his fist again the polished wood. After all, he had no reason to be suspicious of his mentor when all that man did was call out with that old voice of his. Hide pushed the door open without a second thought, and there he was. The old wrinkled and smiling doctor sitting behind his large desk. His crimson eyes glowed with hidden cunningness and twisted mysteries. "Ah, Hideyoshi-Kun, I was wondering when you'd stumble into my office." He smiled widely, more wrinkles appearing across his old tan skin. He stacked a rather large pile of papers on his desk, eyes sweeping across the words imprinted onto them before lifting his head to look at nineteen year-old. "There's something I have to run by you," he said, his eyes growing dark and narrow. "Recently our company has created a new policy."

"Oh? Really, cool." Hide grinned brightly, settling down in the chair across from him and placing his hands onto his knees. "What do I have to do? Fill out some kind of questionnaire?" he wondered aloud. He had a strange opposition with filling out useless quizzes. Seriously, he could spend endless hours in front of his computer filling them out. Yeah…he had no life.

Reaching his hands out and lacing them together, Doctor Akihiro Kanou's smile widened and his red eyes glowed darkly. "It's more like a small vaccine," he explained slowly, using the easiest words he could muscle up. He almost smirked at the blank expression Hide gave him. It was a known fact that the blonde hated needles ever since he had to start giving blood samples every morning. "The substance that will be injected into your body will double your immune system, and raise defenses against any infection that might be accidently spread within the building. The vaccine has been created because of the diseases defensive laboratory. Better safe than sorry."

"…So you're saying…if I don't take this vaccine, there's a chance that I'll end up with boils or something?" Hide repeated slowly and carefully, making sure he heard all the information correctly. He eyed the man closely, searching for any hidden answers within his eyes, but all Doctor Kanou did was nod with that smile still on his face. Hide almost smacked himself for being foolish, and searching the Doctor for a hidden meaning. The man was just looking out for him, and besides, he'd rather not develop a rash, thanks. "Okay! So when will I have it?"

Lightly clapping his rough hands together, the old doctor's lips spread into a smirk, not that Hide noticed. The poor blonde was too busy thinking about the needle shot. "I happen to have a dose of it here," He said and took out a see-through small box that possessed a needle. Hide stared at the needle, his face growing pale. Gulping, he lightly scratched the side of his head in thought. For a second there, he swore the black liquid inside it suddenly had something similar to red eyeballs, like the ones similar to a ghoul's, but he figured his eyes were playing tricks on him. He'd admit it; he got a little obsessed with them these past months. It must have really affected his health. Aww man.

"Um…Yup…Okay, Doc." He grinned, twitching while trying to remain still as he rolled up the sleeve of the same arm as before. He was about to hold it out to the old man, when he stopped him and suggested the other. Hide glanced at his arm and Doctor Kanou, not quite understanding the difference but going along with it either way, rolling up the sleeve to his other arm and holding it out to the doctor.

Tugging out a pair of clean rubber gloves, Doctor Kanou slipped them on and peered at the anxious blonde from the corner of his eye. His lips parted, his tongue peeked out as he licked his top lip before turning his needle box and wearily removing the lid. He took it out as if it was the most precious thing in the world and it most likely was at that moment.

As soon as the tip of the needle touched the surface of his skin, Hide trembled and inhaled deeply, wincing as it punctured through. Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, he clenched his eyes shut, trying to ignore the burning and stinging sensation that had begun in his arm. Taking in a sharp breath, Hide watched, suddenly overcome with dread as the liquid began to sink into his skin. In the blink of an eye, it was over. Hide blinked twice, confused. That was it? Normally it lasted longer than that. He eyed the now-empty needle, watching as his boss carefully placed it into its rightful box and sealed it away securely.

"Was…was that it?" Hide questioned, reaching up and brushing the spot where the needle had just been. He winced as the small area throbbed almost painfully before fading away.

"Yes Hideyoshi-San. That was it," Doctor Kanou said amusingly. He watched the boy closely, mentally noting any sign of the vaccine taking effect, but so far none was shown. He assumed it must've been a success. Usually the side effects, if there were any, would have shown up within the first minute of it being injected and it had been almost three minutes since then. Feeling quite pleased with himself, he removed his rubber gloves and dismissed Hide.

The day went on quickly. Hideyoshi had done his job with a surprising amount of ease. He got to work with Ushio-san, helping her with her runs around the hospital. An old woman had been signed in to the hospital after a nasty run in with a ghoul. Apparently the little naughty woman had invited the man back for the night, and during their passion he had ended up biting her, but when he'd realized what he had done, he ran off, not before calling an ambulance. It was by a miracle that she had arrived to the hospital on time. Once the woman was stable, she had been made to take millions of tests. After all, she _did_ do it with a ghoul so it was only reasonable to make sure she hadn't gotten any…health issues. Hideyoshi had found it amusing, but at the same time he was disgusted with how the other nurses and doctors treated her. Ghouls weren't so different from humans. That's what he liked to think anyway. Now he wasn't so sure anymore.

Rolling his eyes, Hide walked tiredly along his street. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed. He loved his job and helping people as much as he could, but man was it tiring. He felt like he could sleep for a whole week. Groaning as he stumbled over to his flat, he fiddled with his key before pushing it into the lock and opening his door, easing into the room quickly. He wanted to just fall into his bed and sleep, but his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since yesterday.

Dragging his feet, he walked to his small kitchen. "Whoa…I don't think I've ever been so hungry before…" He muttered to himself, chuckling as his stomach growled in agreement. Smiling widely, he walked forward and pulled the refrigerator door open, taking out one of the many burger packets and ripping the small see-though bag open, biting into his meal. The taste filled his mouth completely and the blonde groaned at the pleasurable taste that licked at his taste buds. He couldn't believe how he had forgotten the desirous taste the burger possessed. He had been trying to eat much healthier and had started to eat only one burger a week. He couldn't believe how much energy he had now, all because his diet had originally been fizzy drinks and burgers.

Swallowing the last of the small burger, he rubbed his hands against his stomach and grinned brightly as it growled again. "Better make dinner," He said to himself, twisting on the balls of his feet and proceeding towards his freezer. Just as he reached out to open it, a loud bang erupted throughout the flat. Blinking his wide amber eyes, he pulled back and stared at the doorway down the small hallway. Hide stilled, listening quietly.

Right when he was about to return to the kitchen, believing that it was all in his head, another thud came from the door. Lifting an eyebrow, he focused on the wooden door. Hearing the row of knocks coming from the other side, Hide decided to get closer, the knocks getting much louder and much more furious as he neared it. "What the hell?" Hide breathed out, inspecting the wood and making sure that there was a good distance between himself and the door. His mind was reeling, trying to figure out who it was on the other side. Who had decided to grace him with a visit at this time of night? The only friends he had now were at the hospital and he had seen them all today, had a tiny lunch together, and even walked down to the road with them. So why would anyone come around without calling first? Normally, he would have gotten a phone call or at least a text.

Sliding out his phone, he checked the screen and frowned deeply when he saw no missed-calls or unopened texts. Well, that wasn't true. He had received a text message from one of his friends from last night who had gotten drunk and sent him an embarrassing message. The next day at work, he had come to Hide blushing madly and begging him not to look at it and to delete instead…Something he still had to do. He had forgotten all about it, but he promised and he intended to keep it. Sighing to himself, he exited the phone screen and held it tightly in his hand. Returning his eyes to the door, he considered opening it and almost did, but as he reached out and laid his hand firmly across the wood, he felt a harsh shudder from the other side.

His eyes widening, he backed away, wondering who in their right mind would kick a door. "I should call the police," he thought to himself, craning his head to look at his phone again. Nodding his head in agreement, he pressed his thumb over 9 and went to press it again when the door swung open. He could have jumped straight out of his skin. The door made a loud crash against the wall. Hide couldn't believe somebody had just kicked his door open!

An unfamiliar figure stood in the entrance, his snow-white head hunched over. The figure's shoulders tensed slightly before relaxing and breathing in something similar to relief. He wore a ripped black shirt that looked like it had once been long-sleeved, and pair of white jeans that had been torn from the knees. But it wasn't the appearance that had gained Hide's attention, or the fact he had kung fu kicked his door open.

What he noticed most was the set of four flaming tentacles, resembling foxtails swaying in the air around his body. Two were near his knees and the other set was over his shoulders. It's a ghoul, Hide realized. He was done with ghouls, so why was one at his doorstep? Was he going to die? Seriously? After all those changes he'd made, this was his end? How ironically stupid. This must have been his punishment. Damn, man. He really should have re-thought his actions these couple of months. His mouth gaped, opening and closing as he felt a chill run up his back.

Just when he had found his voice again and went to speak, the mystery figure raised his head, revealing a very familiar face. "K-Kaneki…" He stuttered out in shock, seeing his long-time friend and former boyfriend. How he had found his home in the first place, he didn't know, but yet again, seeing his tails, it wasn't too farfetched of an idea. Being Hide, he didn't notice the mad look within those mix-matched eyes or the way his friend's jaw was clenched. Even the way his tentacles flexed with desire went unseen. Hide had so many things he wanted to say. He wanted to scream out, to punch, and maybe even kick something. To throw Kaneki's damn ass out of his new life once and for all. All anger, hurt and tears filled his being, but being Hide, as soon as his eyes locked onto the other's, it all washed away and confusion filled his mind.

"Dude…what did you do to your hair?" was the first thing that left his lips, the first thing he said to his friend and lover in the months since he'd disappeared. It wasn't what he had planned to say if he, god-forbid, ever ran into the other, but it bubbled up his throat without much thought. Seriously now, white hair? Really?

Relief washed over him. Kaneki ogled at the other, the lustful feeling that had flowed through his veins smoothing down. The panic to find Hideyoshi, the need, oh the painful need to find him again disappeared as he stood before him. He had been searching for the longest time, and when he'd thought he had found him, he was overcome with a sense of jitteriness, which had quickly changed to bloodlust when a it was a young woman who had opened the door of his lover's previous apartment and not Hide. He wasn't sure what he had thought, but he was sure that he was angry, wanting to rip apart the milky skin set before him and watch as red streamed out.

The woman had answered the door in underwear, a clear sign of a passion filled night. Absentmindedly, she had quickly spilled information about a letter that belonged to the former owner, unaware of the danger she was in. The letter had been lying innocently between them before she bent down and picked it up. He had snatched it, ripping it from her hands, and looked down at the words, the black words that glared back at him.

He had moved. His blonde had moved and with apprehension ranked up to a new level, Kaneki had left, leaving the woman out in the open, uncaring as he began to pursue his apparently missing lover. Honestly, it didn't take him long. His nose was powerful and much more sensitive than before. Kaneki remembered what he'd smelt like, remembered the scent that clung to him, and that eventually led him to zone in on Hide. Now there he was, his lover was staring at him with those large amber eyes. Silently, he moved towards Hide, one of his long kagune flittering out behind him as he slammed the door shut.

Hide took a step back, weary, as he raised an eyebrow, confusion clear on his face, though Kaneki didn't care about any of that. All he knew was that Hide was finally within his reach. His Hide. How long had it been? How long had it been since he'd touched that warm skin, or felt the way it would move beneath him? His mouth drooled as he pictured what he could do now, what he was able to do now. He could almost picture the taste, the feel, and the heat.

"Hide." He whispered quietly, using the nickname that only he was allowed to use. His eyes narrowed down at the sudden possibility that his Hide had allowed some other person to call him by it. Only he was allowed to call Hideyoshi, Hide.

Hide nodded as if to reassure Kaneki that he really was there. "K-Kaneki…is that blood on-"he began, his eyes spotting the red liquid clinging to the snow-white cheek. His mouth gaped similar to that of a fish, as his words came out in a rush of concern, which was abruptly interrupted. Kaneki strode across, the small distance between the two growing smaller, and cupped a hand around the blonde's head, dragging him closer and claiming his lips. The kiss was fierce and dominant, faintly laced with traces of bitter blood. It confused Hide to imagine what his former lover had been doing moments beforehand. Kaneki's lips moved hungrily against the blonde's, and Hide shuddered, melting into the other. He felt a wandering hand, reminding him that Kaneki was his former boyfriend.

Breaking the fiery kiss, Hide made a strange sound from the back of his throat and shoved the white-haired ghoul away from him. The strength Hide possessed was enough to push Kaneki two steps back, leaving poor Hide to drop to the ground. He blinked furiously, staring at a spot between his legs and wondering what in God's name was going on, before he finally looked up at the ghoul again.

Kaneki's eyes were closed as he lifted his arm to wipe the back of his hand across his mouth. Slowly, his eyes opened and Hide shuddered when he saw the black and red eyes staring down at him with a craving glint. "Mine," He breathed out, scaring Hide all the more, as he arched his body in an animal-like fashion, making his kagune flail.

Before Hide could make even a sound, Kaneki pounced, throwing himself directly at the human and straddling his hips. His hand reached out to touch the soft-looking golden hair, causing Hide to move his head away with clenched eyes. "Kaneki, what are you doing?" Hide grunted out, almost glaring up at the once midnight-haired male.

The whole situation made Hide indignant. Kaneki had disappeared and left without a word to him whatsoever when he could've sworn they were very close. They had been locked together by the hip since childhood, always together and never to be separated. Hell, they were even called two of a packet. Kaneki had never left him behind before, but suddenly, out of nowhere, he did. Reaching up, he pushed lightly against Kaneki's shoulders. "I'm serious Kaneki. What are you doing here?" he demanded, trying to push Kaneki fully off, but finding it surprisingly difficult and frustrating when the other didn't even budge.

Kaneki felt the familiar bubble of affection blooming within him. "Missed you," was all he said, shifting further down, and feeling the warmth of Hide beneath him once more. Kaneki wanted to kiss those soft lips again; to arouse passion and desire within the little human…and he did. The ghoul mercilessly kissed him again, purring as his hands gripped his shoulders tightly, shivering at the little tingle of pain that he felt with the way Hide dug his nails into his own shoulders. He smiled through the kiss, feeling a shudder ripple through Hide's body. The blonde moaned oh-so-nicely beneath him. He sucked on Hide's tongue and whined into his mouth, feeling the way Hide wanted to get closer to him, almost straining to do so.

He smirked, loving the way Hide moved. It made it easy for one of his long kagune to wrap around the blonde's waist and make the kiss that much more melancholy, when combined with a mixture of blood and saliva. Hide's head throbbed from the suddenness of it all. This couldn't possibly true, could it? His amber eyes widened in shock and his back arched when he felt another kagune sliver up his stomach, crawling up softly and caressing his skin. Hide groaned as soon as he felt it brush against his sensitive nipples, jerking and whimpering loudly as he finally started kissing Kaneki back, just as heatedly as he used to.

Kaneki held onto Hide's soft hair, uncaring as to how rusty he'd gotten, and too busy practically drowning in the desperately needed pleasure that Hide gave him as he held him down, rolling his hips against his own, to care.

While one of Kaneki's kagune teased Hide's nipples, twisting and pinching them painfully, he used another of them to lightly leave small trails up the small of Hide's back. Hide gasped into his mouth, enjoying the delicate touch as he leaned into him more, pulling them up into a sitting position.

Kaneki watched as Hide panted, his face turning red from being out of breath. He trailed his finger along the side of his face, eyes half-lidded and himself feeling quite smug. He took advantage of the pause, leaning forward, and running his lips across Hide's jawline, advancing on a venture down his neck.

The blonde whimpered as Kaneki remembered one of his sensitive spots, kissing that special area located on the side of his throat. Kaneki grinned and kissed that place again, relishing in the warmth Hide emanated as he writhed against him.

Hide found his head tilting back, allowing the gentle lips massaging the side of his neck more access. Seeing this, Kaneki stuck out his tongue and gently licked at the skin stretching across Hide's throat.

"K-Kaneki," Hide panted, moaning loudly and flopping his head forward when Kaneki pulled away, watching Hide's messy appearance in satisfaction.

The blonde's face flushed bright red and his amber eyes glazed over as he panted uncontrollably. Kaneki watched hungrily, laying his eyes on his favourite blonde. He couldn't help but wonder how appetizing Hide's face would look if he snuck one of his kagune inside him.

"Kaneki!" The sunny boy suddenly yelped, eyes growing wider and his mouth gaping in surprise.

A lone, brave kagune ventured into a looped shape and pressed into the skin just below Hide's bellybutton. Kaneki could feel the small golden hairs stand up on end from the simple action. He used the kagune to create circle motions leading below the two annoying layers of Hide's trousers. He grinned, almost sadistically, when Hide let out a loud whimper and clenched his eyes shut as soon as the tip of his tentacle touched the hardened skin.

Two of his other kagune returned to the whimpering human's nipples, teasing them by pinching and tweaking slowly. He felt a strong thrill as he remembered just how sensitive and delicate his Hide was, his mouth-watering murmurs never failing to arouse him. Slowly, Kaneki allowed the kagune to lightly stroke the sun-haired male's cock. He was hardly even touching him, and yet Hide was already a withering mess. It excited him.

It had been way too long since he'd last touched his love, and Kaneki couldn't even remember why he had decided to leave for almost three months in the first place. The reasons that appeared in his mind didn't make sense anymore, and shouldn't either way. Hide wanted him and he wanted Hide. It was that simple. Nothing else should matter and now, nothing else did.

Kaneki tilted his head down again, opening his mouth and making Hide cry out as he bit into him. Sinking his teeth into the soft skin, just deep enough to draw a little bit of blood, he ran his tongue across the skin and sucked on the spot until the patch under his lips was a bright pink colour.

Lifting his head, his kagune tentacle still working teasingly on the twitching cock, Kaneki moved to suckle the small patch of skin underneath Hide's ear, until he finally reached up to nibble at it. He made an animal-like rumble when he heard Hide squirm in response.

"Hi-de." He purred out, almost singing out the blonde's name. "Louder, I want to hear you," he breathed, nibbling across the skin, and leading his lips across Hide's jaw, taking his time with pleasurably biting his way down his neck.

He was marking Hide as his own.

Hide gasped, feeling something that was very similar to the feel of a hand cupping his hardened cock outside his jeans. His mouth opened in a breathless moan, giving Kaneki the opportunity to raise his head and slip his tongue into his small human's own mouth.

The kiss was just as fierce and dominant as before. His lips moved hungrily against the blonde's, who whimpered and tried to return it with as much effort as he could. Kaneki ran his tongue along Hide's, his eyes partially opening to look at his lover. Making sure the blonde was too preoccupied with the pleasure to notice his hands, Kaneki reached for the blasted jeans that were in his way, sliding his thumbs inside of them and pushing against the buttons, undoing them with ease.

The ghoul broke the kiss when he finished undoing the last button, and looked down at his human with piercing eyes, a bridge of saliva binding them together. He was going to bind them together tightly now, and never allow that connection to break again.

Hide's eyes fluttered down halfway, him licking his bottom lip mere seconds later, and granting his eyes to open wide when he felt something pull roughly at his jeans. His soft amber eyes bounced to either side of his head to find that Kaneki's hands had been placed against the wall, supporting him as he hovered over the blonde, while two of his kagune grabbed onto his jeans and began to remove them. One of his kagune wrapped around Hide's hips for leverage, and he pulled the bottom half of his body up to help remove those damned things. His last kagune didn't even let up as it remained teasing the sun-color haired human's cock, now slivering down to the head, rubbing slowly and almost painfully against the tip.

"Kaneki…Kaneki…" Hide breathed out between gasps, looking wide-eyed at the person hovering over him, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. His eyes grew even wider when he watched a long kagune flitter up into the air behind the ghoul, removing his jeans before lobbing them across the flat carelessly, as if the clothes offended them.

Hide squirmed under him, feeling progressively more apprehensive about the sudden situation. When had Kaneki gotten so aggressive and possessive? Sure, Kaneki had always taken the lead, but he had never been this…rough. He had always been gentle with him.

Lost in thought, Hide was barely even aware that the kagune had already removed his boxers too before they were treated just like his jeans.

Kaneki trailed a hand up Hide's slim and naked body, rolling his fingers over the pink nipples as he went. He smirked down at the blonde, eventually leaning down to painfully pull Hide into another kiss, his thumb gently stroking the blushing red cheeks as he allowed two kagune to sliver up the behind him, and wrap around each wrist, pulling them up before allowing a single kagune to bind Hide's wrists together above his head without breaking the kiss.

"Kaneki." Hide said loudly, struggling against the kagune wrapped around his wrists, about to say more, only to be shushed by Kaneki re-taking his mouth again.

Breaking the kiss, Hide laid numbly against the wood, blinking his glassy eyes and continuing to squirm desperately beneath Kaneki. Kaneki smiled and nipped at Hide's neck again, the desire and ne ed filling his stomach. Tightening his kagune painfully around the pale skin, he sucked cruelly on the soft neck as Hide struggled to pull his wrists apart, feeling himself becoming harder and starting to leak.

Hide's knees began to tremble and shake as he felt two other of Kaneki's tentacles wrap around his thighs and pull them apart. His lips stretched into a small smile and he carefully leant back, his eyes taking in the gorgeous sight in front of him, eyeing the area between Hide's legs. Kaneki made a soft sound from the back of his throat, carefully sticking his tongue out and running it across his bottom lip. Reaching down, he pulled the pitch-black tattered shirt from his being, revealing his torso.

Hide inhaled sharply, his eyes staring at his friend and lover. He couldn't help but wonder when Kaneki had got so well built. Did that even make sense? Why did sex always make him forget things? Hide's body stiffened as Kaneki returned to him, laying across his body once more, making Hide squirm uncontrollably as he began to kiss down until he reached the blonde's stomach. He nipped the soft skin and purred as he felt Hide tremble from the movement.

Kaneki reached down and gently grasped Hide's hips, finally removing his sopping wet kagune from his cock, advancing to lick it. He moaned from the bitter taste that wet his tongue, then he took it into his mouth. Taking it in deep, he opened his mouth and licked the tip of the cock, groaning as it throbbed against his tongue. Kaneki groaned in satisfaction, especially when his Hide moaned loudly, similar to a scream, yet not exactly. Hide arched off the floor and whined loudly, struggling against the kagune holding his wrists together tightly. Kaneki sucked. He rolled his tongue along the hard and hot skin, moaning to himself at the taste. Kaneki growled and Hide froze, a cool chill running down his naked spine when he felt teeth grazing his cock.

He wouldn't bite him there, would he? Hide found himself worrying, staring wide-eyed down at the white-haired Ghoul. He threw his head backward, gently hitting the back of it against the wooden floor as he felt his tip touch the back of Kaneki's throat. Kaneki purred on the hot skin, licking everything he could, feeling desperate to make Hide come. He bobbed his head faster, forcing his lover closer and closer to the edge.

"K-Kaneki!" Hide shrieked, his shoulders rolling backward as he arched his back. He swore to himself, his voice raw as his vision became taken over by a familiar white, and he began to writhe, shaking on the wood.

Kaneki didn't remove his mouth from Hide's cock, allowing him to ride out his orgasm. He ran his tongue repeatedly over the flesh, moaning as Hide filled his mouth with white. Eventually he had to pull away.

Leaning back and licking his cheek, Kaneki hummed lowly underneath his breath. He leaned closer to the flesh and gave it one last lick, smiling at the loose wail that flittered from Hide's mouth. He trailed a finger up the centre of Hide's chest, watching as it raised and fell while he struggled to breath. His hand moved up Hide's neck and cupped his cheek, swooping down and capturing his mouth again, kissing him long and hard, rubbing his tongue against Hide's before finally pulling away.

Hide was so lost in the heat and pleasure that he hadn't even noticed that Kaneki had removed his kagune and allowed his wrists free. Hide stretched out his hands and rested them lazily on either side of his head, simply staring up at the ceiling above him. His mouth hung open, his tongue peeking out of his mouth, resting against his bottom lip. To Kaneki, it was a mouth-watering sight. He grasped Hide's face, cupping his cheeks and pulling him up, meeting him halfway. Hide whimpered, almost mewling as the ghoul rolled his hips forward, rubbing his rough jeans against his cock. It was a slightly burning sensation.

"Kaneki…" Hide breathed out when Kaneki broke the kiss. He watched as the boy pushed himself onto his knees and reached down, undoing his own torn jeans, quickly removing them from himself.

Kaneki smiled at Hide and ran his hand smoothly through the golden locks. "Hide." He called, letting out a low chuckle beneath his breath. His eyes flickered down Hide's body and he lowered himself, quickly settling down between the long legs, now free from his kagune. Said long bubbling red tentacles swayed through the air behind him.

Hide allowed himself to wail as their hips touched one another, and hearing the soft gasp from his blonde haired lover, Kaneki leaned down and kissed along Hide's jaw, towards his neck. He felt Hide twitch and gasp when he bit almost harshly along the throat and began to roll his hips, grinding into the other below him.

Hide's eyes fluttered, and he breathed deeply at the quick pleasure that rolled between his legs. He was barely aware of the tentacle tip that had begun to circle around his backside, only to cry out loudly when it suddenly pushed in. He shot a look at Kaneki, his eyes growing wide before narrowing when he found Kaneki smiling almost sinisterly. "That was m-mean." He grumbled out, arching his back as the kagune began to swirl about inside of him, rubbing his walls.

Kaneki made a soft amused sound, not agreeing but at the same time, not disagreeing either. His eyes lowered to his kagune, moving it in and out of the trembling body below him. He smiled in delight at every moan and gasp that flittered from Hide's soft-looking lips. The kagune tail twirled within the other, shifting in and out at the same time. He could felt the sticky-hotness clinging to his kagune and he found himself licking his bottom lip.

Hide clenched his eyes shut, his shoulders hunched and his bottom lip trembling, leaving him feeling especially, well, evil. Kaneki drew out another one of his kagune, moving a second tentacle near the puckered hole and letting it quickly join it in, teasing the blonde.

Hide let out a broken cry at the sudden intrusion. His body shuddered from the pressure inside him and the rolling hips above him. Sucking on his bottom lip, he let his teeth go down harshly and shook, his eyes rolling into the back of his head from the pleasure.

He hadn't realized how much he needed this and it was at that moment that he realized. Six months. He hadn't had sex in _six months_. He wondered if maybe that was why Kaneki was being so rough with him. Or maybe there was something more; what had happened over those six months to make Kaneki so demanding? Hide hardly had enough time to pounder the thought as suddenly, the kagune within him firmly rolled against something inside him, making his back arch and his hips roll forward, grinding back up against Kaneki. His was yanked into another kiss and Hide couldn't help but hold onto Kaneki's shoulders.

Smirking into the kiss, Kaneki purred, sliding his tongue around Hide's before breaking the kiss and feeling a possessive smugness at the dazed and lost expression on his blonde's face. Twisting his kagune inside Hide, and watching in thrill as he cried out, Kaneki removed his kagune and bit at the pale skin stretching across Hide's shoulder. He rolled his tongue across the small wound, lapping at the blood and grinning almost evilly as Hide relaxed underneath him, clamming his raging breath and heart. Kaneki, thanks to the ghoul blood running through his veins, could even hear the pounding organ carefully relaxing.

He traced his tongue along the skin, dipping his head into the space between the neck and the shoulder. Kissing up and suckling the side of Hide's neck, he finally moved to kiss him on the mouth again. This time however, Hide reacted to the kiss by running his hands through the soft snow-white hair, moaning and twitching his hips. Kaneki ran a hand along the sensitive skin, moving it towards his legs. He rolled his fingers smoothly against the delicate skin beneath the knee, massaging the small patch and brushing his thumb against the hardened surface of his knee. His long kagune smoothly ran across Hide's thighs, gently brushing up and down along the surface of the skin before finally wrapping around them and pulling them up.

Hide whimpered into the other's mouth, his back arching so much that he feared it might break. He could feel Kaneki enter him, pushing in and stretching his insides. He couldn't help but wail loudly from the familiarity of the feeling. His amber eyes peeled wide open and his body shook against Kaneki's as soon as he surrendered to his mouth. Hide rolled his head backwards, his mouth hanging open, and his tongue peeking out slightly as rows of shrieks and moans escaped him. "K-Kaneki!" he cried out.

A pleasure-filled chill ran up Kaneki's spine at the fact that Hide had screamed out his name. "Hide." he himself moaned out lowly, rocking his hips back and forth, slowly moving and searching for Hide's sweet spot. Shifting his hips and using his kagune to push Hide's legs up to his stomach, he plunged in deeper and rotated his hips.

Kaneki reached down and cupped Hide's cheek, gently brushing his skin while moving his hips faster. Kaneki's lips stretched into a fierce gin when Hide let out a scream, his hands grabbing blindly, and his fingers digging into the other's shoulders. He felt Kaneki pull all the way out, until only the tip of his cock was inside Hide, before slamming back in. Hide squirmed, his legs shaking and twitching, almost twisting, while his hips bounced up and down.

Removing themselves from Hide's thighs, Kaneki's kagune slithered around the moving blonde, two of them taking his ankles and pulling them behind Kaneki's back, as another was used to bind them together tightly. "Hmm, Hide. What's thousand minus seven?" He questioned deeply, running his tongue sensitively across the area he had just bitten, smirking even wider if it was possible when Hideyoshi shook from underneath him. Vibrating uncontrollably against him.  

Crying out, Hide rocked back against Kaneki. His amber eyes grow wide and his mouth hanged open in pleasure. What was it? What did Kaneki just ask? Something minus seven? Or Seven minus something? His head throbbed as he arched up against Kaneki, he tried to answer by opening his mouth, but nothing came out. Only a pleasure full moan. "K-Kaneki." He moaned instead, mildly surprising him when he jerked his head down and pulled him into a desperate kiss. Hide embarrassingly writhed, and began to scratch at the ghoul's back as Kaneki brushed against his bundle of nervous again, repeatedly slamming into him.

Pleasure rushed through Hide, licking at his muscles. He wasn't going to last, and he knew it. He could feel the knot flexing in the pit of his stomach, like a hand gripping at his insides and pulling.

Shifting his body, Kaneki broke the kiss and buried his face into Hide's throat, licking, sucking, and biting as he sped up, hitting Hide's prostate dead on. He could tell that Hide was coming to the edge, and at the thought of it, he found himself desperate to be the one to throw him over.

Kaneki began to nip harshly at Hide's collarbone, leaving angry red marks in his wake. He moaned to himself as he plunged his cock in and out of his blonde. Feeling teeth sink into his neck once again, Hide clumsily lost the rhythm of the half Ghoul, his mind blurring and buzzing from the feeling that approached him quickly. The clenching in his abdomen began building, and his eyes grew wider as his stomach twisted tightly.

He opened his mouth to cry out the ghoul's name, only nothing came, and a breathless cry erupted from his throat. His fingertips tingled and his toes curled, legs arching up while he struggled against the kagune holding his ankles tightly. His vision grew fuzzy, and white spots began to block his view.

His arms throbbed as they dropped to the wooden floor, his panting heavy. Kaneki closed his eyes, letting himself slowly try to catch his breath. He allowed two of his kagune to gently move up and release Hide from their hold, tenderly lowering his legs to the floor.

Kaneki refused to move away from the blonde, warmly stroking the tomato-red face of his love. He leaned down and pressed kisses along his jaw, feeling the way Hide was gasping for breath, and feeling satisfaction at knowing he had done it to him.

Slowly, he shifted his hips, finally removing himself from the human, being careful not to hurt him as he pulled out and watched Hide wince, letting out a small moan under his breath.

Kaneki moved back slightly, rubbing the blonde's thighs and hooking an arm underneath the sensation-deprived legs, while the other wrapped around Hide's shoulders, making him easy to lift off the floor. He shifted the male in his arms, watching as he let out a soft sigh and laid his head tiredly onto Kaneki's shoulder. Hide's eyes closed, leaving him looking like he was about to drift off to sleep at any moment, not that Kaneki could blame him. Admittedly, he had been a bit rough, maybe even too rough.

Shaking his head, he lifted Hide and looked around the room, finding his mind wandering back to the time in which Hide still lived in his old apartment, the place where they would always hang out and spend endless hours together. He felt a little annoyed that he'd moved, and he missed his previous apartment that had held so many important and precious memories. This flat itself was a lot smaller than his old one, but it at least it looked cozy and homey.

It didn't take him long to find the bedroom since the apartment only had two other doors besides the one in the front. They each led to the bathroom and the bedroom. Using his kagune to push the door open, he entered the room and mentally praised the blonde for being able to keep his new home so tidy, unlike before when clothes were always littered across the floor.

Walking to the edge of the double bed, Kaneki used his kagune to help ease the now-sleeping human onto the soft blankets, before advancing to lay down beside him, moving until he was pressed fully up against Hide's side, arms and all four kagune wrapped possessively around him

He wasn't asleep long, only a few hours before he forced himself to wake up. He lay still against the warmth for five minutes, before he coolly sat up. He didn't want to leave, but he had a friend that needed his help. With a sigh, he looked to the door of the bedroom, his eyes flickering between the exit and a peaceful Hide. Running his hands through his hair, his eyes half-lidded, he pulled himself from the bed, walking towards the door and picking up his clothing on his way.

Kaneki turned to the front door, his kagune fading away. He glanced back at the bedroom door and frowned, suddenly realizing how hungry he had become and wondering why he hadn't tried to eat the blonde. Almost like his human side was listening, he found himself growling at the idea.

Without another thought, Kaneki prepared himself to join the fiery fight that had been going on since evening. The quicker he got the job done, the quicker he could return to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...what do you think? My first prober lemon. It wasn't to much, was it? I hope not...I turned bright red as wrote this.
> 
> Anyway, please-please comment. I'd like to know your opinion. Do you want more? Hehe~ I was gonna put this up on Fanfic but decided against it. I'm not sure if it was against the rules or not, so blah! 
> 
> For side-couples? I'm open to anything as long as it does not interferer with my OPT couple. Haha~. So yes. Suggestions for couples OPEN! 
> 
> Please comment, Kudos and Bookmark!


	2. The End of Shattered Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hideyoshi's given up on finding Kaneki. Finally deciding to try and live his own life then wasted it on looking for somebody who obviously doesn't want anything to do with him. Well, that's what he thought anyway, turns out he can't be anymore wrong. Two months later, a fresh-white haired Ghoul demands entries and he finds himself swept up in a world of true Ghouls and violence. Hideyoshi struggles to come to terms with the shocking twisted truth that had been done to his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone~ Sorry about the lateness! My beta has worked super hard on this and I hope you all like it! :) Anyway, what can I say about this chapter? I wanted to show how much Kaneki still loved Hide and needed him. I wanted to get their conflict out of the way for the much bigger and scarier stuff to come in :)
> 
> I have a lot of events planned out and all I can say is...I hope you enjoy it at least :)
> 
> Please give a massive thanks to my wonderful beta InfinitePanicAttacks33 for editing this. 
> 
> Warning...Slash. Fluff. MaleonMale. Gore. MPreg!

The moon illuminated the sky, while the stars twinkled down warmly upon the loud cries of the ghoul known as the Tokyo Ghoul. The thick smell of grit and musk filled the air, coating Tokyo like a fog, and filling every crook and cranny of the city. A single crow fluttered through the air, letting out a loud troubled wail as it flapped its wings, moving swiftly with the wind. It landed gracefully upon one of the tall buildings of the city, its bare feet quietly touching the surface.

Kaneki stared out at the city with an indifferent glint within his grey eyes. His lips curled into a tight line, as he resisted the urge to return to a certain bed. His skin had a snow-white tinge to it, and his shoulders were hunched, yet not tensed at all. His black-tipped hands rested limply at his sides. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes briefly, and lifted his hands, gently removing a black rubber mask from his ripped white jean pocket.

Raising his hands, he pressed the midnight coloured material onto his face, sliding his fingers across his cheek, and clipping the strap around his face, allowing his left eye to be blinded by it. He ran his fingers smoothly through his frosty hair, allowing them to roll over his forehead and brush against his cheeks.

He rolled his shoulders, his arms returning to his sides as his head tilted backwards to look back out at the destroyed town. Rotating his head to the side, he gazed emotionless towards a certain area, smelling a familiar scent. A musky smell played against his sensitive nose. It was blood, and not just anybody's blood either.

"Touka…" He murmured, his mind reeling back to his female comrade, remembering the young woman from the coffee shop where he had worked, and where he had learnt to withstand the pressure of becoming a ghoul.

Turning his body, he allowed himself to be carried through the air, being pulled towards the building that held the injured body of his friend. He bounced off a streetlight, his eye zoning in on a familiar figure standing on top of a building. Ayato. He recalled the younger Kirishima, his mind picturing the raven-haired male; Touka's younger sibling, her only brother.

He narrowed his single visible eye at the young man, noticing the young male turning and beginning to stalk away, only to pause. A pair of deep blue and purple flaming wings erupted from his back, blasting out a row of needles as his blue scarf waved through the air.

Touka. The woman was lying in a puddle of black liquid, a strong smell rolling off her tattered clothing, her arms and leg spread out. Seeing the deathly sharp needles being fired towards her, Kaneki ripped through the air, swooping his arms out and removing her from harms away. His feet touched the surface of the roof as he arched his back, leaning his head forward, only to notice a dirty-blonde haired male crouching against one of the walls of the building. Nishio.

"K-Kaneki…?..." A weak voice called out, gaining Kaneki's attention.

Touka felt her body shiver in shock as he slowly turned his head, lowering his eyes to look at her. Touka stared at the ghostly gaze looking back at her blankly. She felt her lips twitch painfully as she breathed in sharply. Had Kaneki given up on his humanity? Why? So many questions filled her head, but she couldn't open her mouth to voice them. It had been such a long time since she'd last seen Kaneki, six months to be exact. "Why…are you…such…an idiot…?" she wheezed, black blood gushing out of her mouth, dripping down her chin before her eyes rolled back into her skull and her head dropped. Her body sank as she fell unconscious.

Lifting his head once again, Kaneki pulled out a single kagune. It flexed behind him, instantly shaping itself into a firm tendril, becoming sharp as a needle. Swinging it about behind him, he effortlessly repelled the feathered spikes, before turning his single blank eye to the dirty-blonde man. He felt like he was supposed to smile, and that made him thankful for his mask more than ever since he really couldn't bring himself to do so. "I'm all right, Nishio-San. Please see to Touka." He spoke in a tone that prevented the man from arguing, not that he would of course.

"Kaneki…" Nishio murmured in shock, staring at the young man and noticing the way he had changed. Not only with his appearance, but he could feel the powerful atmosphere flittering from the ghouls body, and not only that. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a different aura to the once dark-haired male, along with an odd look. "Right." He nodded his head firmly, reaching his arms up and taking the young woman from the half-ghoul, cradling her close, and flickering his eyes up to watch Kaneki.

Ayato shifted his body, sliding his hands into his dark pockets and dipping his head, his raven hair falling over his eyes. "You look quite different now, don't you, you one-eyed bastard?" he sneered, his deep voice filling the area around them. His wings shifted behind him, reeling back into a much narrower form, giving the impression that a pair of blood-red eyes were framing his shoulders. "I was so sure you were already dead! You've been gone for six months!" he bellowed out in thrill, watching as Kaneki sped off to the side, using his tail to push himself along.

The frosty-haired ghoul twisted on the balls of his feet, avoiding the needle shards that Ayato hurled at him. His body moved oddly as he arched it to prevent even a single hit from piercing his body, before he was suddenly tapping his back against Ayato's. The younger Kirishima felt the hairs on his neck stand on end; it wasn't possible. Kaneki had been a long distance in front of him; it was inconceivable that he'd swiftly appeared behind him.

"You are Touka's one and only brother." Kaneki stated flatly, his head flopping forward, allowing his colourless hair to fall over his face. "I won't kill you."

"This is why I say you Anteiku punks are all such wusses!" Ayato bared his teeth, swinging his fist around to slam it into Kaneki's body. Only at the last second, the half ghoul spun around and blocked the punch with one of his own.

Rotating his other fist, and throwing it out with as much strength as he could, he growled when Kaneki blocked that punch with yet another hit. His deep red eyes glared at the expressionless ghoul as he twisted his body around to kick him, only to have his back flip through the air in order to block another attack.

"You little…" He swore at the ghoul with bloodlust lacing his voice, spinning around and leaping into the air, then slamming his booted feet repeatedly against Kaneki's crossed arms, forcing the ghoul to stumble backwards. Ayato pushed himself off Kaneki, throwing his body into the air and allowing his kagune wings to burst from his back, spreading so wide that it hurt.

Kaneki felt his body burn as he fell backwards, skidding against the ground and making his back to blister. His legs and arms lied unmoving against the gritty floor as he remained staring emotionless up at the somewhat cloudy sky above him, just allowing his wounds to heal. "Hey…" He called out, his voice still deprived of all emotion, sending a ghostly chill up both Ayato and Nishio's spines. "Do you want me to tell you your secret?"

"My secret…" Ayato said with a deep voice, his lips curling into a small frown. His crimson eyes narrowed deadly at the unmoving Ghoul. "What the hell? I don't know what you're talking about?" he sneered, twisting his body oddly and staring down at Kaneki.

Kaneki let out a tired sigh, as if he was annoyed that the other male didn't get what he was saying. "What are you trying to do in Aogiri?" he questioned, allowing the words to fill the air.

"I'm just trying to kill some shitty humans," Ayato growled, grinding his teeth together and shifting his body weight from one foot to the other. He spoke with a somewhat high pitched voice, obviously lying.

Kaneki allowed his single eye to close, his body relaxing against the rough ground. "Wrong." He murmured carelessly. "That doesn't match up."

"It's not like you'd have any way of knowing that, dumbass," the raven hissed, clenching his fist tightly. His fingernails pierced his palms, creating crescents across his skin. His heart began to speed up, a twitchiness crawling up his body.

"I understand now that I've tried fighting you, that you are indeed strong…" Kaneki said slowly, almost like he was talking to a child. His colourless eyes opened and he stared blankly up at the night sky, his hands pressed flat against the surface of the roof. "It seemed like Jason really hated you…I think he didn't even try to fight you because he recognized your real strength."

Ayato's lips curled back, showing his fangs. He bent his body forward, his eyes growing dark, burning with anger. "Shut up and listen! People who blabber on and on like they know everything are so irritating!" he wailed, his kagune wings crackling behind him, his skin bursting as the flames spread out around him, becoming crystallized.

Kaneki turned his head, his single eye looking across at Ayato. Once again, he allowed a lone blood-red kagune to slam into the ground beneath him, pushing him gracefully back onto his feet as he avoided the shards from ramming into him again. He shifted his body around easily, moving using the wind to support his body as it helped him dodge the fragments that desperately wanted to make their home in his body. Ayato reeled back, losing his view of Kaneki. Just as the man blinked, he felt claws rip into his shoulders and yank him harshly down, his gut being impaled onto the hardened surface of a knee. A breathless cry fell from his mouth as pain clawed through his body.

"Shut up and listen just like that...I'm talking." Kaneki said, holding up a single black-tipped finger.

"Don't…take me lightly!" Ayato hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes growing wide and beginning to sting. "You've made me sick since the very beginning! Your expression, your attitude, and even your way of talking irritate me!" The young male roared, throwing his head up and allowing his kagune to fill up the space behind him. "You remind me of my shitty father and it's too disgusting to bear! But this time it's you who is wearing his face, as if you've got it all figured out and continuously babble your wild ideas!" He screamed, cranking his leg up and delivering an abundance of kicks at Kaneki, forcing the man to retreat for the moment. "Just go die! Disappear! After all, you're just a half-breed!"

Twisting his feet, Kaneki pulled himself away and easily righted himself up as if nothing had happened at all. "Jason was strong." He stated, in the same flat tone as before. Not even a small hitch was detected within his voice. "I fought him, so I know. Even back at Anteiku, Touka threw herself at Jason. She's tough too, but if she had fought him like that, she would have been killed. You forced your way in and dealt her with one blow."

Taking in a sharp breath, Ayato lowered his head, his shoulders hunching. "I wish I had beaten the hell out of her one more time..."

Kaneki allowed his head fall to the side, a loud crack erupting from his neck as he looked at the out-cold Touka in Nishio's arms. "You protected her, didn't you? So that Touka wouldn't die…If you had fought her with the intent to kill, then the outcome would have been reached a long time ago," he said quietly, slowly returning his attention to the other. "Ayato…what do you want to accomplish so badly that you joined Aogiri…I wonder?"

Ayato trembled. "Why you…it's amazing that your delusions have gotten so far. Have you lost your mind? I can't understand a thing that leaves that trap of yours," he spit out, biting his bottom lip so hard that red gushed from the small wound that appeared. His hands shook at his sides, curling into shaking fists. "I pity whoever licks your wounds at night. They must have a loose screw somewhere in their head to put up with your pathetic excuses. They must be real pitiful considering the smell coming from you. It's so disgusting, I can smell it from here. It makes me sick!" He leered, lifting his head just as a foot slammed down upon it, casting him across the ground.

Kaneki bent himself around, cracking his fingers disturbingly. "I'm done talking." He said, spastic, feeling a delicious shiver crawl up his spine at the painful expression that appeared across Ayato's face, and feeling incredibly pleased with himself. He pivoted an his heel, looking at Ayato across from him, his eye morphing into the darkest of blacks with a blood-red pupil pulsing directly in the middle of it. His body shuddered as two tentacles became mercilessly locked onto the raven, bestial themselves as Kaneki became overcome with bloodlust. They whipped through the air, charging towards Ayato and slamming into the surface of the roof on either side of him. "Like I said…you're Touka's only brother so I won't kill you…" He began, pulling his tentacles away, only to slam them back down and break the floor underneath Ayato, sending the both of them falling down to the level below them, shadowing them from the moonlight.

A tiny snort fell from Kaneki's lips. He slowly rose to his feet, shaking off the debris as if nothing had happened at all. "So…I will only beat you half to death."

A calculating expression flickered across his face underneath the mask, his single blood red iris dilating with a manic glint. Shadows flickered across his masked face as darkness swirled around the two. "What do you think the definition of 'half kill' is?" He questioned lowly, his voice coming out in a pleasure-filled purr. "It's being half killed. I think one has to half-perform an act that would kill. If we consider destroying the whole body as one full death, then separating the upper body and lower body can be half...but the damage to both sides is too much. You can still live without the bottom half of your body, but if the upper half is crushed then you'll die."

His dull voice held a sadistic edge. Ayato twisted his head around painfully to stare wide-eyed at the half-ghoul. "'In that case how about the organs?' That's what I thought next. But that way I have to think about the value of each organ as well, and sorting them is difficult. Let's take the brain for example. Would the whole thing be counted as one organ? Or should I subdivide it up into the cerebrum, cerebellum, and hippocampus? It's too complicated."

"So, in the end, I decided on the bones." Kaneki purred out, his lips forming into a wide smirk. "There are 206 bones in a person's body. I don't know whether humans and ghouls have the same structure or not, but if they are all broken then that person will surely die. The bones are symmetrical on the left and right sides so splitting them in half is easy." His lips parted, showing his too-white teeth underneath the mask, a savage tone within his voice. "In other words, starting now, I'm going to break 103 of your bones. But don't worry, you'll heal…in time."

Reaching down, he gripped Ayato's arm and twisted it, listening to the cry that escaped his lips. "Starting from the arm. We'll began at the upper half and forearm first, then the hand. There's one bone called the 'humerus' in the upper arm. The forearm is composed of two bones. The bone I broke earlier on the pinkie finger side is the ulna. The bone on the thumb side that I'm going to break right now is called the radius." He began to speak, cracking bone after bone and explaining what each piece was, along with the process of breaking it. He ignored the way Ayato flinched underneath him, and eventually he broke the last of the 103 bones.

Sighing deeply, he straightened his back and looked down at Ayato, who had lost consciousness from the pain and blood loss. Kaneki exhaled sharply and reached up, unclipping his mask and removing it. He blinked and stared down at it before sliding it back into his pocket and returning his attention to Ayato.

He almost felt sorry for the boy, but shook his head and slowly tilted it up to look through the hole he had created with his kagune, feeling a pair of eyes on him, and pressing his lips tightly together when he saw nobody. Bending his legs, he leaped up, using his tentacles to lift himself through the space, feeling the cool air flicker across his face. He landed smoothly onto the surface of the roof and used his peripheral vision to find Nishio, who had already exited the roof to tend to the injured Touka.

Turning his head, he found a figure standing a good distance away from him. She was definitely a female, though her body was covered in crisp white bandages and she was wearing a ragged pink dress. He stared at her with half-lidded eyes, feeling bored. She tilted her head playfully, shifting her body as he began to walk across the roof, being careful to keep the distance between them.

Once he came to the edge of the roof, he dipped his head low and leapt, pushing himself through the air and landing gracefully on the soft ground surrounded by trees. He noticed a certain ghoul investigator that had spotted him but hadn't charged in for an attack, and without so much as a thought, Kaneki began to walk away, still feeling the bandaged ghoul trailing after him, careful not to gain the attention of the investigator as he walked through the familiar park.

Hide groaned, slowly coming to his senses and noticing just how much his lower back throbbed in pain. His muscles clenched and unclenched, his body screaming at him that something wasn't right. Hide almost laughed; of course something was out of place. Slowly, he opened his soft chocolate eyes, looking but not seeing. Everything around him was fuzzy and he briefly wondered if he was going blind, that was, until he noticed a mop of white hair resting on his left shoulder. Blinking slowly, Hide rolled his head across the soft pillow and peered down at the other. Of course something was off; it was Kaneki.

Just when he'd finally reached acceptance, Kaneki had to return, hadn't he? Hide was embarrassed to think that he had been obsessed with looking for him, who had obviously not wanted to be found. At the time, Hide had realized that he, for some reason, had to look for the once midnight-haired male.

It was just so strange when Kaneki suddenly up and left, and began to avoid him. Hide was lucky when he came across him working at that coffee shop, but even then, he'd noticed that Kaneki's demeanor towards him had completely changed. He wouldn't look him in the eye, or even allow him touch him, not even trying to caress Hide like he used to. He'd stopped allowing Hide to make long conversations and most of all, he never initiated one like before. What hurt the most at the time was that Kaneki had all of a sudden begun to stand him up on their dates, cancelling or flat out deciding not to call. Hide supposed the scariest moment back then had been when Kaneki had snapped at him, telling him to leave him alone. If looks could kill, Hide was sure he would have been killed twice back at the coffee shop; the looks he'd gained from everyone else had broken him.

The moment he'd finally stopped searching had been when he was working at the CCG, and by then he had a hunch that Kaneki had somehow become a ghoul. He had been working on paperwork about a female ghoul that had spoken of a strange, one-eyed ghoul, and he just knew that it was Kaneki, and with the realization came the hurt and betrayal. Kaneki could have come to him, could have talked to him, but he hadn't. Instead, he'd erased all contact with Hide and because of that, he'd suddenly blacked out during work, which made him take a hold on his own life. He had over-exhausted himself, which resulted in him becoming Doctor Kanou's patient. He was very grateful to the old man, because it was him who'd commented on his mental issues after he'd recovered, which in turn made Hide feel surprisingly comfortable around him. Kanou-San had helped him a lot, and had even gone ahead and offered him a temp job after he'd been released from the hospital.

Hide moaned under his breath as he let out a long yawn, sinking back into his soft blankets. His let his eyes flutter closed as he felt himself drifting back into a much-needed sleep. Yes. His body was right; he needed rest after what had transpired last night.

Just as he was about to doze off, his mind jarred him awake with concern. His eyes snapped wide, and he craned his head to the side to look at his digital clock sitting on the tableside; the glaring red letters read seven in the morning. Moaning in relief, he relaxed, his muscles aching. He had an hour and a half until he had to be back at the hospital for his shift.

Hide looked towards the sleeping ghoul and chewed his bottom lip. He remembered the way Kaneki's eyes flickered between two different colours, his own natural soft grey-brown eye and a black-red ghoul eye. If that didn't confirm his hunch, then the tentacles Kaneki had used on him last night definitely did. Though, only a moron would dispatch the confirmation, thank God Hide wasn't an idiot. He held great pride in being one of the smartest people in his classes. Always achieving top marks, he had made more than one person in his old classes jealous because of his brains.

Tilting his head, he looked at Kaneki again. He looked so calm and peaceful, as if nothing had ever happened. Hide bit his bottom lip wondering what he was supposed to do now. Was it normal to have sex with your former lover like that? Well, yeah, he's heard of ex's doing things like that. Even then, he wasn't sure what to think anymore.

"Kaneki…" He muttered under his breath, slowly extending his hand and running it through the soft white hair. What had happened to Kaneki and why was his hair white now? Why…why was he back all of a sudden? Honestly, Hide had gotten used to not having him around anymore, so it was odd to have him back so suddenly. Could he handle Kaneki just leaving like before after last night?

Hide sighed, feeling his stomach twist painfully. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Despite his weak body screaming at him not to, he gently, to not wake Kaneki, peeled his hands from around his torso, and slowly sat up.

He checked on the male, and seeing that he was still asleep, shifted towards the edge of the bed. He dangled his throbbing legs over the side of the mattress, having the urge to crawl back into bed but knowing he couldn't. He had a perfect record and he was desperate to keep it that way. How else would he ever be taken seriously at the hospital?

He pushed himself up from the softness of the bed, his legs buckling underneath his weight the moment he touched the ground. He glanced back at the bed and frowned, a thought occurring to him. When had he moved to the bed? He could've sworn that…the…err…it had been on his kitchen floor. Mentally noting to wash his kitchen floor later, Hide turned his attention to the bedroom door, noticing that it was closed. It had been slammed harshly, he noticed, looking at the small cracks around the frame that hadn't been there the day before.

He lifted his foot, preparing himself to make his way to his shower, when he paused and looked down at something dark that caught his eye. "Whoa…" He breathed out in surprise, he swore he hadn't seen that last night.

Crouching down and pressing his legs together, he reached out to the object, shuddering from the cool rubber beneath his fingers. Pressing his fingers along the material, he noticed it had an unusual texture, but it wasn't the texture or the material that caught his attention. It was, in fact, the form. It was a mask, a very un-nerving mask. It was black with an eye patch on the left side and a large chilling grin across it. "So…Kaneki really is the eye patch ghoul…" He mumbled to himself, stretching up fully and hissing under his breath from the painful throb that panged his lower back.

Still holding the mask, he glanced at the sleeping ghoul before placing the mask onto the nightstand. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew it was true and there was nothing he could do about it. Though now he could finally understand why some of the people who had encountered Kaneki had been so frightened. That mask was terrifying. Hide tried to imagine what it would be like to be cornered by a ghoul wearing it, but found himself unable to. After all, it was Kaneki who was behind it.

Running his hand through his hair, Hide made his way to the bathroom. It didn't take him long to shower, but with the time he had, Hide made sure to carefully and slowly scrub himself clean. Once he was finished, he stepped back into the bedroom, now fully dressed and smelling like coconut. He sniffed, his face red after his shower, feeling a lot better. Seriously, Kaneki had been very rough with him last night; it left his body aching, but not as painfully as before. The warm water had really helped.

"Sex is painful," he thought to himself in mild amusement, walking towards the kitchen.

He walked into the room, his eyes flickering about before landing on his refrigerator. It wouldn't hurt to have a burger bun now, would it? Surely not! He had been extra good with the fatty snacks. Smiling to himself, he reached up and slid his hand into the shelf, pulling out the hand-sized packet, but as soon as he had it in front of his face, he felt his stomach twist. His throat throbbed with nausea, and he found himself wheezing as he shook his head and placed the bun back into its rightful place. It must be too early for food. Yes that must be it. He'll try and have something at lunch, not to mention check if there was any lotion for his aching backside. He forgot how annoying it was to be the bottom in the relationship. Oh, his poor back.

Hide was completely oblivious to the fast approaching kagune. The bubbling red tentacle flickered about, moving easily through the flat, quickly zoning in on the blonde. Hide blinked slowly, feeling a slight pressure around his abdomen. He tilted his head down and stared at the familiar kagune with his mouth gaping in shock. Expecting himself to be yanked out of the kitchen and into the arms of the half ghoul, he closed his eyes, preparing himself for the small trip. Instead the kagune turned him around, and he was met with a hand lightly touching his own.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kaneki gave him a cool stare. Strangely, his right eye wasn't black and red like before. Instead, it was replaced with his familiar soft grey-brown eye color. Kaneki laced their fingers together, his lips pressing together. Hide could practically see the gears turning in his head.

Hide's eyes flickered to the side. "Err…work." He muttered softly, returning his gaze almost timidly. It was strange; unlike last night, Kaneki looked like his old normal self. He seemed much more at peace, though Hide still felt a chill run up his spine at the thought that something within Kaneki had snapped, and whatever it had been had left very bad consequences.

"W-What happened last night, dude?" Hide eventually asked. His wide eyes were aimed directly at the white-haired man, his mind replaying the embarrassing events from before. He also wanted to ask what was with that question he had murmured in his ear; one thousand minus seven? What was that all about? And why did Kaneki ask him that during sex?

Kaneki lowered his head almost shamefully, turning it away with his lips pressed into a firm line, obviously not going to answer the question. Hide sighed, his eyes looking up at the kitchen ceiling in thought. "Okay…" He sighed, his breath hitching as he briefly shut his eyes. "You don't need to explain…" Hide mumbled shyly, rubbing his red cheek. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy last night; it was just shocking to say the least. He knew Kaneki would tell him the truth one day, when he felt better and more at ease.

Opening his soft brown eyes, Hide glanced over at Kaneki and almost stumbled backward in surprise. Why hadn't he noticed it before? Turning into a new shade of red from embarrassment, he spun around and placed his hands over his jean-clad hips, tilting his head back, eyes shut. "Y-You…You should go get d-dressed." He found his voice breaking and couldn't help but wonder why he felt jittery? He had seen Kaneki naked before. Maybe it was because Kaneki had never left the bed naked before, or maybe it was his new appearance. Whatever had happened to Kaneki during those six months must have somehow completely wiped him of his morals, walking out into the kitchen as naked as the day the he was born.

"Y-You could get a cold, you know." He added quickly, lightly tracing his feet against the floor. Damn it to hell. Why was he so damn nervous and shy all of a sudden? His head felt light, and he was slightly dizzy. "You…You could also use the shower. It's in the door to the left."

Kaneki stared at the back of Hide's head quietly. His eyes lowered in sadness, and he carefully removed his kagune, taking a moment to look at it. Maybe he shouldn't have used them on Hide last night. Kaneki had no idea why he had, when he usually would never have gotten them out in front of Hide. What had he been thinking?

Sighing, he tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes, allowing his kagune to disperse, retreating back into his body. He noticed Hide wince from the snapping sound of skin and bone that echoed through the kitchen as his kagune returned to his lower back. Slowly, he relaxed his shoulders and tilted his head. Still watching the blonde for a few more seconds, Kaneki turned on the balls of his feet and walked numbly towards the bathroom

Hearing the door shut, Hide relaxed and turned his head. He looked at the bathroom door, expecting Kaneki to come stalking out, and relaxed when he didn't. Easing himself against the counter of the kitchen, he leant over and inhaled deeply. His head throbbed, a sensation he hadn't had before. He felt stressed and tired, and especially sore. So many things were wrong with him. Shaking his head, he turned around and pulled open the kitchen drawer, taking out a few painkillers from the packet they were in. Honestly, Hide hated using medication. He hated how pills always tricked the human brain into believing something that wasn't true, but at least they could temporarily solve the problem.

It wasn't long before the odd feeling in the back of his head faded away, and he quietly thanked whoever was watching over him before he put the tiny packet back into the drawer, hoping he wouldn't have to take it out again.

Scratching the side of his head, he smiled brightly as he heard the shower start up. Hide searched his cupboards, and silently cheered to himself as he took out a rather large bag of coffee; he knew buying it would someday come in handy. This gave him the opportunity to start nice conversation, since now Kaneki and he could talk over coffee before he had to go to work. He checked the time after leaving the kettle to boil, and was relieved to find that there was still a good hour left until he had to leave for the hospital.

He placed the coffee bag onto the counter, quickly checking to make sure he had gotten the black coffee, before walking back to his bedroom and grabbing a towel and fresh clothes. He decided he was safe to change, since he highly doubted Kaneki would leave the bathroom in his previous torn up clothing. Well he hoped not, though he wasn't so sure anymore. Kaneki had changed. Before, he would had rather been caught dead, than be seen walking out into the open naked.

Kaneki stood underneath the warm water, arms left loosely at his sides. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not, considering he hadn't had a warm shower in months. When Jason had held him captive, all he had was baths with ice-cold water, all given to him by the disturbed ghoul. He was lucky not to have gotten ill from it, and even so, that was most likely because of the ghoul blood running through his veins. One of the perks of being a half ghoul was that he now had an improved immune system. Normal weapons such as knives and guns didn't have an effect on him; all the things that would wound a mere human no longer worked on him. It had taken him a long time to finally accept that he was no longer human, and even now, if he could, he would go back and return to being the former quiet, dark-haired bookworm he'd once been.

He was a ghoul; the secret was finally out, and Hide now knew everything about him. Kaneki sighed and reached up, running his fingers through his silk hair. It felt good, but his face showed no sign of it being pleasant. His eyes were half-lidded and his lips twitched in an odd fashion. He had worked so hard, so hard to keep Hide safe, but yesterday, after shattering the damn ghoul that had held him captive for so long, he couldn't prevent the yearning emotion within him. His need had grown and before he knew it, the desire had overtaken his being, making him blind to everything but the blonde's lips against his own.

What worried him the most now was that, Hide would be put in danger because he'd figured out the truth. Hell yes, he was sure it would. The Aogiri Tree was a big danger, and there was a big possibility of Hide being injured. They'd been following him for a while now, and Kaneki remembered how last night, after saving Touka, the little pink one had followed him around Tokyo. He had tried to shake her off, but when he'd seen the sun slowly rising, he'd thrown caution to the wind and let his feet bring him back to Hide, who he could curl around protectively.

Kaneki had been worried when he had awoken to find him gone because he was sure nothing could have gotten to him with his kagune wrapped around him like a shield. He couldn't express how relieved he'd felt when he sensed his scent in the kitchen.

Even now, Hide hadn't shown any dislike towards him. Though, Kaneki couldn't blame him if he did. After all, he was a ghoul and what he'd done to Hide was unspeakable. He could understand the weariness Hide had towards him, what with him having left without a word, before suddenly returning, and kicking the poor blonde's door open.

Immediately, Kaneki stiffened when he heard the door open, followed by the patter of timid feet moving across the bathroom floor. He relaxed when he smelled the familiar scent of Hide and wondered why he had entered the room with him when he could practically feel the nervousness coming off the human in waves.

Kaneki turned his body, looking for the blonde behind the shower sheet, and knowing where he was despite not seeing him. Hearing the door click close, Kaneki peered outside and allowed his lips to curl into a tiny smile, at the thought that maybe Hide wasn't as uncomfortable with him as he'd originally thought. Noticing a fluffy, neatly folded white towel on the toilet with a small pile of Hide's baggy clothing, Kaneki felt a familiar bubble of affection grow in his chest. He listened for a minute and then went back to washing his hair.

When Kaneki stepped out of the bathroom, he was overwhelmed with the strong mouth-watering smell of black coffee hitting his nose. He shivered and looked curiously at Hide who was working calmly at the small black marble counter of his kitchen. "It's surprisingly hard…to make coffee, isn't it?" Hide chuckled to himself, glancing at the white-haired ghoul over his shoulder before turning to face him holding two white mugs in his hands. Both cups had a little steam trail fluttering from them and Kaneki noticed that they must've been the source of the smell.

Hide looked at Kaneki, his eyes showing something between sadness and warmth. "Kaneki…I knew…" He admitted softly, lowering his head as Kaneki stared at him across the small kitchen in confusion, the gears in his head slowly turning, before his eyes grew wide. He didn't mean the secret of his ghoul side, does he? How could Hideyoshi know that? Kaneki had worked hard to keep his secret from the male. "Yeah…I knew…I knew before last night…"

Kaneki watched with wary eyes, eyeing the way Hide shifted in front of him. The blonde slowly moved to the counter near his friend and placed the coffee down before backing away, holding the other mug close to him. Kaneki narrowed his eyes, paying attention to every move the smaller male made. Hide held the mug to his face, lightly blowing on the pitch-black coffee to make it cooler. Tipping the mug slightly, he tasted it before grimacing, making Kaneki almost smile at the expression that appeared across the blonde's face.

"Sorry Kaneki. It tastes bad. I guess I can't make good coffee after all." He snickered to himself, shaking his head and lifting his eyes to make contact with the ghoul. Said male looked at him wearing a shocked expression, and then sighed, his eyes lowering in thought. Seeing this a smile appeared across Hide's face.

"Oh, Kaneki, do you remember our anniversary date? The one where we decided to go that café that was in Spain? You ordered a random thing in order to impress me, trying to make me believe you knew Spanish." Hide chuckled, remembering that night as if it'd happened years ago, when it in fact had just happened last year. "You accidentally got fish heads. They were sticking up through the rice. Remember that café? I thought you weren't eating because you just had a stomach bug. You were pushing your food around the plate to hide the fact that you weren't eating.

"And then…do you remember how I got the crap beaten out of me by Nishio-San later on? We ran into him, right?" Hide smiled, tilting his head in thought and sipping the bitter coffee. He would have spit it back out as he had forgot what it had tasted like, but found himself swallowing it anyway and taking another mouthful, liking the way it washed down his throat. At least it didn't make him feel sick like the sandwich. "To be honest, I thought I'd died. I thought it would be easier to survive if I played dead, and I suppose…I was right." He shrugged, letting out a joyful laugh that made Kaneki feel warm.

"Oh…Kaneki." Hide hummed, his lips stretching into the smile Kaneki loved so much. "Thank you for going all out and saving me back then. You'd really do anything for me, wouldn't you?" Hide glanced down at his coffee again and hummed. "At Anteiku…I thought, it sure was nice how they were all so full of life, and there you were among them.

"I felt kind of left out when I watched you." Hide chuckled to himself, shaking his head at how pathetic he sounded. His shoulders slowly hunched down and his head dipped as he sucked on his bottom lip. "I honestly thought you had forgotten me. That you had gotten bored of me. I mean, you'd just disappeared without a word…and the other ghouls? They…They didn't really welcome me…so…I just gave up on trying…"

Soft eyes flickered back to the white-haired male, before he smiled brightly at him again. "Kaneki, don't take on everything by yourself anymore. You don't need to shoulder the burden on your own."

Kaneki stared at the blonde, his eyes growing so wide that they began to sting, and he bit down on his lip. He trembled as his eyes began water, his chest throbbing somewhat painfully. He inhaled deeply, and allowed himself to relax, letting all the tension leave his body. He couldn't stop the great relief that washed over him at hearing his lover's kind words.

Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi had known. He'd known the truth about him all along, and yet he'd never left him. A small smile appeared across Kaneki's face as he inhaled deeply, sagging from relief. He wrapped his arms tightly around Hide's waist, easily closing the gap between them, and burying his face into the hollow of his collarbone. Kaneki sighed, his senses filling with a sense of being home. Hide smelt of sunshine, warmth, and fresh grass. He smelt of everything Kaneki could no longer enjoy, something that had been taken away from him. "I'm sorry." He muttered, his voice muffled from the soft skin.

Hide blinked, and then smiled brightly, letting out a laugh. "Dude. It's okay, I missed you too." He chuckled softly, his eyelids closing halfway as he returned Kaneki's hug, though maybe not as tight as Kaneki who had more strength. In the back of his mind, Hide wondered if he'd have bruises later, since he already had many from last night. Just thinking about them made his thighs ache in the spots where there had been Kagune holding his thighs.

"It's okay." He repeated softly, his voice low and gentle. He'd never thought in a million years that he would forgive Kaneki so easily. Though now that he had, he wasn't even surprised being that he couldn't stay angry at him for long, much less hold a grudge. He cared about him too much to do so.

Still smiling, Hide allowed his arms to drop, fully prepared to break the embrace. Kaneki was never one to hug for long periods of time; even when they were young, he'd always gotten flustered whenever Hide hugged him for no reason at all, so it was an understatement to say that he was surprised when he himself tried to pull away, but Kaneki held on, even tightening his hold on the other. "Err…D-Dude." Hide gasped, finding his cheeks reddening as he stepped backwards, finding that it didn't work since Kaneki quickly followed, his fingers gripping onto Hide's dark shirt. "Yo, dude. I have to go to work"

"Kaneki?" He tried again, nearly waving his arms around as didn't budge.

"Kaneki…" Hide sighed, leaning against his kitchen. He looked down at the white hair brushing against his cheek. His eyes softening, Hide reached up and gently ran his fingers through the hair, mentally noting that not only was Kaneki's hair now white, but it felt even softer. He almost laughed at how wild it looked. Normally Kaneki kept his hair short and neat, but now his hair was messy and all over the place, longer than normal. The style reminded Hide of bed hair, and he wondered if Kaneki was going to keep it that way. He smiled warmly when he heard a sound similar to a cat's purr in response to him gently massaging the scalp, running his fingers in a circle like motion.

"I'm sorry." Kaneki repeated again, inhaling Hide's scent deeply again. "Don't go. What's so important about the hospital anyway?"

"How'd you know I work at the hospital?" Hide blinked in surprise that Kaneki knew about his job. He couldn't remember mentioning it to him, and Kaneki hadn't been around when he'd started working there.

Hide sighed. "Kaneki…" He rested his cheek against the top of Kaneki's head. Neither of the boys moved, simply taking comfort from one another's warmth. It wasn't until at least ten minutes had gone by that Hide looked at his small digital kitchen clock and realized just how much time had really gone by.

Mentally cursing himself, Hide pushed the reluctant male away, not able to so much as look at his face. "I really have to go now, Kaneki!" He said sharply, patting the motionless male on the shoulders before looping one arm behind him and prying the other's grip off him. "Have some of my bad coffee. Ah. Actually, throw it out and make your own. I bet it would be better than mine anyway." Hide laughed softly, zipping around the kitchen as he spoke, and grabbing the things he needed. He pecked the unsuspecting ghoul on the cheek before running to the door.

"Kaneki. I really did miss you too…k?" Hide paused briefly, smiling warmly at the young man before finally disappearing through the door. As soon as it closed, the amiable boy leant against it and breathed deeply to calm himself. For some odd reason, he felt a little down. He wasn't sure why though, when Kaneki had come back after half a year. He'd finally returned after Hide was beginning to accept the thought that he would never see him again. Even after everyone at Anteiku had treated him harshly for trying to find his lover, and even when he'd figured out that Kaneki, along with everyone at the coffee shop, was a ghoul, he'd still held on.

Shaking the thought from his mind, Hide groaned and rushed his way towards the hospital. He'd be damn if he let something like this affect his chances at becoming a physician. He needed a perfect record and that was something he is going hard to gain.

Kaneki stared darkly at the door Hide had just disappeared through. Reaching up, he cupped the cheek the blonde had just kissed him on. Frowning to himself, he turned his attention to the lone white mug sitting on the edge of the counter. He reached for it, bringing it to his lips and sniffing it before finally tasting the bittersweet taste.

"It isn't too bad." He muttered under his breath, thinking he'd had worse. Shrugging to himself, he tipped the heavy mug and drunk more of it as he walked around the flat, observing the new home Hide had chosen, only to stop at the large window and spot a familiar pink-clad figure standing on the roof of the building across from the flat. His eyes hardened with protectiveness as his stomach twisted in uncertainty.

"So she had followed me all the way here." He hissed under his breath, shutting his eyes.

Hide gasped, his throat burning as he came to a stop outside the familiar hospital building. He bent over, grasping his knees as he gasped for breath, his face blotchy pink colour due to exhaustion. "M-Made it," he said, peering at the clock through the window and grinning at the black arrow. He had made it with five minutes to spare. "Yes!" He cheered, throwing his arms up in his excitement only to blink once, twice, a few times as he noticed the looks all the people were giving him. He laughed sheepishly, his arms falling to his sides as he speed-walked through the sliding doors with his head down.

"I've really got to stop doing that…it's as bad as talking to myself in public," he said loudly, only frown and shake his head. "Which is exactly what I'm doing right now."

Edging towards the sign in area, he ran his I.D. through the slot, before running his fingers smoothly through his shaggy blonde hair, and twirling on the balls of his feet. His amber eyes scanned the lobby, taking in all the faces around him. As always, he felt a chill run down his spine, feeling as though a pair of eyes were watching his every movement. Sighing to himself and still feeling sore, he stalked over to the elevator, adjusting his badge as he walked.

He watched in relief as the heavy metal doors of the elevator shut in front of him, and whined, leant against the metal wall. "Note to self; don't run after sex. It isn't good for you." Hide groaned, rubbing his lower back and cringing at the strange throbbing sensation that followed.

"It's been a long time," he thought aloud, remembering the last time Kaneki and he had, well, done the deed. It had been…shocking to say the least, especially since they had done it on his kitchen floor. Before yesterday, the most erotic position they had ever done it on had been on the bottom of Kaneki's bed. Hell, they hadn't even had a shower together, much less gone as far as they did last night.

Sighing to himself and feeling more drowsy than before, Hide stepped out onto the long hallway. He moaned and shut his eyes, feeling, if possible, even more tired and spent. It was as if every step he took sapped away even more energy

The day was long and hard. Never mind how sickly and just completely warn out he felt; he had never had so much difficulty doing one thing before! Even when he was right out throwing up with a cold, he worked well. This behavior was so unlike him! It almost hurt how much time and energy he put into this job. He wasn't even ashamed to admit that he cheered when the clock ticked for lunchtime. Relief had never been so welcomed before.

"I'm sorry! I need to go meet the guy of my dreams!"

Hide frowned, lifting his head and rubbing the back of his neck. He recognized that feminine voice; he could tell it apart anywhere. The doors slid open before him and he was greeted with a view of Ushio and Hikarushimi-San, both sitting at the hospital café table.

"And here I am!" Hide grinned cheekily, sliding somewhat smoothly into the wooden chair next to Hikarushimi and leaning back. His eyes twinkled as he laughed at the look that overcame Ushio-san. He assumed it was her that had announced a date or something.

Ushio looked at him, unimpressed, while Hikarushimi let out a chuckle of amusement. "Oh. Ha-Ha. Listen to my general laughter." She spoke, her voice drained of all emotion. Her eyes flickered between the two men, using finger to make a hushing gesture, before tugging her jacket her jacket around her tightly.

Hide smiled even brighter, if it was possible. Both Ushio and Hikarushimi had long since gotten used to the golden haired male's endless positive attitude; his enthusiasm always filling the room, being incredibly contagious, if sometimes annoyingly. "So!" he began. "Who is this man of your dreams?"

Ushio glanced to the side, tugging on a lock of soft green curls. She forced her cherry-red lips into a tight line. "Just a friend of…Miki-chan…" She muttered lowly, whispering the other woman's name low in the hope that her two male friends wouldn't hear the woman's name

"A friend of…Miki-san?" Hikarushimi repeated slowly, his dark eyes growing wide, and his mouth forming an 'o'. It was an amazing sight; to see a normally stoic male like him make such a face.

The young beautiful doctor frowned, breaking under is gaze. "Yes! Okay!" She whimpered, throwing out her hands with a loud sigh. Hide had to admit, he pitied the woman; after giving birth to her cute little baby, the father of said mother had gone out to get milk and hadn't returned…in three years.

Ushio just didn't have the time to date or look for men, and when she did, they normally left her when they find out she had a kid. "He might be dreadful. Can we just make a signal? Just incase I need help!" she begged, giving Hide an expression that told him she wanted to slam her head against the café table

Hide's eyes softened and he laughed to himself. "Okay…How about this!" he said cheekily, doing an exaggerated mocking signal with his hands, while at the same time making strange faces.

"It's got to be something subtle; something I can easily slip into a social situation." Ushio groaned, narrowing her eyes at the male. She puffed out her cheeks, similar to the way a child would. "How can I make this work?" she questioned, repeating the exact same mock signal Hide had done just moments before. "This doesn't seem natural on a date!"

"Alright! Calm your flippers." Hide snickered, ducking his head when she attempted to bop him on the head. "You could say…" He trailed off, his eyes rolling up as he bit the inside of his mouth in thought. "The kitchen is on fire, everybody out!" Hide grinned proudly.

Hikarushimi snorted quietly to himself, lifting his cup of coffee to his mouth and sipping it. "Only one thing, Hide. You don't work here." He pointed out softly, both of his friends hearing him despite the low volume.

Hide glared playfully at his friend, letting out a soft whine. "He doesn't know that, now does he?" He huffed in good humor before snapping his eyes to Ushio and gasping dramatically. "Wait! Don't tell me your date is here! In the hospital café, Sakura?" he asked, his answer being given in Ushio's body language as she refused to look him in the eye. He slouched into his chair and tapped his fingers on the surface of the table. "Whoa…just whoa. What a date…"

"Look-look! Alright, it isn't even a real date. Just two people going out and-and…" Ushio groaned loudly, running her fingers through her short green curls and pouting her lips. "….and not having sex…" she added bashfully.

"Sounds like a date to me." Hide laughed happily, smiling when Ushio eventually did bob him on the head. He rubbed the now throbbing spot, thinking it strange that it normally didn't hurt like this. He fought a painful wince that was threating to show on his face. Ushio always made sure to lightly tap him and Hikarushimi; she didn't have the strength to actually cause damage, but here he was, fighting the wail of pain that threatened to scramble up his throat. "Okay, okay. I'm going to go get coffee and maybe lunch." He added the last part more to himself then the other two.

Hikarushimi frowned and raised an eyebrow. "You don't drink coffee." he called out to the blonde, who eased himself onto his feet, and began to stumble to the café counter.

"For some reason I've been craving it since this morning," the sunny-haired male called over his shoulder, coming to the counter and giving the cute girl behind it a dazzling smile, making her flush and smile sweetly. Of course it went straight over poor Hide's head.

It wasn't long before she had returned with his coffee and one of his usual sandwiches. Smiling politely, Hide thanked her and turned around, leaning against the counter and sipping the coffee. He was envious of how this coffee was so unlike his own; it tasted great! He turned his warm chocolate eyes onto his two friends, beyond happy that he had made friends after Kaneki.

He'd always felt unwanted at the coffee shop, like he wasn't needed there. He felt lonely and left out after Kaneki began spending more time with them than him. Hide understood Kaneki had made new friends and wanted to hang out with them, but did he really need to cut him out to do it? After all, Kaneki was his only friend, the only person who had ever given him the time of day. Losing him had hurt, had stung, and it'd felt like Kaneki had cashed him in for, what? Five new friends?

Once he had given up on searching for his friend, he was so sure he would never make any new ones. He had decided to keep his head down and focused all his time and energy on his career. It didn't matter that he had no friends, and no love life either. He had been told time and time again that he was like the sun, that he drew people in, but he never felt it, especially after Kaneki had up and left him. Still, against all odds, he had made friends, and surprisingly on the first day of his new job. Ushio and Hikarushimi had been so nice and welcoming to him. Hideyoshi had quickly made friendship bonds with both of them.

"Nagachika-San?" Hikarushimi spoke, snapping Hide from his thoughts and making him jump. He looked at the taller male with somewhat wide eyes. Damn, that man was so quiet. It made Hide wonder if Hikarushimi knew that he had the talent for sneaking around like a spy. He couldn't help but imagine the taller man moving around like ninja, and he had to snicker to himself. Despite being friends with the other male for months, Hide couldn't get himself to call him by his given name. "How are you feeling today? You look pale."

Hide beamed gleefully up at Hikarushimi. "I'm fine. I must have been acting weird because of my daily blood test," he said, rocking on the balls of his feet and taking another mouthful of the dark liquid. He moaned to himself softly because of the taste; it was bitter like any other coffee, which would normally leave him grimacing, but for some odd reason, he was really enjoying it.

Hide scanned the room, mentally slapping himself when he began to wonder if there were any ghouls that had somehow gotten past the hospital doves and were drinking coffee. "Thank you for your concern, though," he said warmly, not noticing the way Hikarushimi flushed a pale pink colour from his dazzling smile.

Hide turned his head at a fast approaching male. He was an incredibly short guy with a nose similar to a beak, along with a bald head, and small eyes. Biting back the laugh, he nudged the other male standing next to him, nodding to the man when Hikarushimi looked at him. Ushio looked up from her ice-tea and smiled, her eyes glitterng. 'Is he here?' she mouthed to them and smiled warmly. Both man forced grins and nodded their heads.

Hide had to hide his grin behind his mug of coffee as he walked towards the table and carefully dropped into the chair. Ushio breathed in deeply, her eyes shutting briefly before she pushed herself up and turned around to face the man.

"Well, hello Totty!" the man called out rather loudly, his voice shrilly, grabbing a hold of Ushio's arm and leaving a trail of kisses. Wincing, Ushio slowly turned her head back to look at Hide and Hikarushimi who had now moved back to sit with their own food. Hide hunched over, trying to keep his laughter down when the man and Ushio moved onto another table, smelling Ushio's hair creepily.

Shaking his head in amusement, Hide took another mouthful of coffee and winced from the burning sensation that coated the top of his mouth, nevertheless thinking that it tasted great! With twitchy hands, he pulled his sandwich packet towards himself and listened to the soft pop of it opening. Carefully, he took the food from inside it and lifted it to his mouth, taking a small bite. Hide frowned, an odd taste filling his senses, making him sigh. At least he was able to eat it unlike this morning when he felt like just throwing his guts up. Shrugging to himself, he sniffed at the sandwich before looking over at Hikarushimi.

"Is something wrong, Nagachika-san?" The dark-haired man asked after noticing the distressed expression that overcame the shorter man's face. He smoothly placed down the chopsticks, brushing his fingertips against the china bowl that held the rice, turning it gently.

His frown deepening, Hide made a soft groan and ran his hand through his hair. "I…this tastes funny…" he mumbled out lowly, playing with the end of the sandwich packet. Hide flushed in embarrassment when the male reached over and ripped off a small portion of the food. He watched as Hikarushimi took a whiff of it before plopping it into his own mouth. The blonde stared intensely as the other man chewed it and swallowed, making the blonde surprisingly eager to see if Hikarushimi tasted the same flavor as he did.

Hikarushimi swallowed again and looked at Hide. "It tastes normal," he said, taking another small chunk and eating it. His nose wiggled and sighed. "How can you eat this? Cold chicken is just wrong."

Biting into the sandwich and forcing it down, Hide let out a dry laugh. "Because…it tastes good," he replied.

Well, at least he was getting something in his stomach. So yeah, knowing that he wouldn't faint from lack of nutrients was good. His eyes fluttered over to Ushio and the man, watching as she winced at something he'd said, still forcing a strained smile.

Ushio leant back when the man began to speak, spitting bits of food from his mouth. She lifted a white handkerchief and casually patted it against her pale face as some of it reached her. "Hehe." She faked amusement and glanced at the two males from the corner of her eye. "Oh. Hide? Did you say the kitchen was on fire?"

Hide's eyebrows raised up to his hair line and his lips curled into a 'O' shape before he smiled widely. "On fire?" He gasped almost dramatically, his eyes flickering around the café before landing back onto her. "Ah I'm sorry. I don't work here Ushio." Hide spoke cheekily, winking at her. Hikarushimi couldn't help but smile in amusement at the glare that was shot at both of them.

"Hahaha. You bastard." Ushio let out a forced and overdone laugh before turning her eyes back onto the beak-nosed man, playing with the pure white sleeve of her jacket.

Hide laughed, amused, but stopped abruptly when he was overcome with the sudden feeling of his lungs about to burst. He leant forward, his chest tightening as he found himself struggling for breath. He felt light-headed and strange as a low buzzing sound began to tingle inside his ears. His hands twitched and suddenly became clammy, opening and shutting on the table. The more he stared at his food, the longer he felt like his stomach was going to burst.

His insides felt like they were twisting, as if somebody was inside of him, preparing to rip their way out. He winced and lifted a hand, running it smoothly across his forehead and noticing how sweaty his skin had suddenly become. Hide inhaled sharply, feeling his ears pop and his nose becoming stuffy. The world twirled around him, and he found himself becoming more tense as time went on. His muscles froze up, clenching, his body screaming at him that something was wrong, though no matter how much he tried to recall what could have caused this, he couldn't come up with anything.

Fuzzy voices surrounded him, sounding like they were somewhere far, far away. He heard his name being called out, but it sounded muffled, as if he was underwater. His face turned a ghostly white, the draining of color being slowly spread to the rest of him. Hide squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered, attempting to moisten his lips, but finding them becoming even drier than before. The longer he tried forcing his eyes to open, the more he felt like he wanted to sleep.

"Nagachika-san?" A voice called out to him again.

Hide slowly eased his head up, opening his eyes wider and looking across the table tiredly. His shoulders hunched and Hide bit his bottom lip hard, piercing it and causing small beads of red to appear across the soft tissue. Hide looked at the man, his eyes already beginning to shut on their own as he dropped his sandwich and swayed limply on the spot.

The last thing he remembered seeing was Hikarushimi charging across the table to catch him, before darkness hooked her claws into his body and began to pull him down towards her.

The first thing he felt when he woke was how drained he was. Pale pink and white spots scribbled across his eyes, forcing his view to become blurry. His ears buzzed with an odd scream; a scream that reminded him of a cat or a very small dog. At the same time, he could hear a female voice whispering to him in his left ear. It almost reminded him of his mother, though that was impossible since she had passed away years ago. He wasn't sure; his ears vibrated with the unusual noises. His ears rang from them, or maybe it was all in his head? Most likely.

He chewed the inside of his cheek, his heart pounding so loudly that he could hear it in his ears. He shifted just a little, but regretted it when he suddenly felt a painful throb throughout his body. He didn't know why, but he felt tired, sluggish. His limbs were numb, and he could feel pins and needles coursing through him each time he tried to move.

He breathed in deeply, letting out a hiccup, and tried to remember what had happened. Fuzzy images filled his head, slowly piecing themselves together; Hide had been at his dream job. He'd been working at the hospital wing, where he'd had an odd confrontation with his boss. He recalled being at the hospital, and going about his duties as usual, doing his normal runs. It all led to him ending up at the café, where he'd been having a small lunch with Hikarushimi, while they had been teasing Ushio.

He had worked as hard as he could to regain any more memories, being as bright and positive as he was. He was always smiling and talking with everyone he came across, trying to become as useful as he could. Brief flashes popped up in his mind and-and then…then his thoughts got fuzzy again. His head throbbed and he whimpered.

The more he tried to remember, the more sudden images filled his head. He let out another hiccup, suddenly realizing there was a tube down his throat. Slowly, he lifted his heavy eyelids, as the strong smell of anti-bacterial cleaner filled his nose. He made an odd sound and twitched on the soft cushions beneath him, feeling the tube being removed. Once that was done, Hide was able to make out a familiar green-haired woman leaning over him. "Ushio-san?" He called out, narrowing his eyes and attempting to make her out, her features slowly becoming clearer.

"Oh. Hideyoshi." She sighed in relief, shifting her body and sliding her hand underneath his back, helping him sit up and carefully rubbing circles in the small of his back. "How do you feel?"

"Sore…" Hide frowned, feeling unsure as to why he felt sore in the first place. His hands twitched across the blankets, pressing against his belly while he winced. He wondered if maybe he had hit his stomach on something. Groaning, he pressed his lips together and sighed, noticing how dry his mouth was and not being able to help but smack them together a few times. Reaching up, he ran his hand smoothly through his hair, noticing that he was placed on a white bed. "What happened?"

Noticing Hikarushimi standing on the other side, Hide glanced at him with a questioning expression.

"You fainted from low blood sugar," a different voice answered instead.

Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, Hide twitched and found Doctor Kanou standing at the end of the bed. He held his clipboard tightly in his hands, allowing his eyes to sweep across the paper, while Hideyoshi just sat there, taking in the information. He had low blood sugar? He hadn't been eating. Maybe it had been something he had eaten yesterday?

Doctor Kanou slid his clipboard underneath his arm and looked at the confused blonde with deep red eyes. "We should take extra blood samples to be on the safe side." He spoke with a cool smile on his face, turning and reaching for a pair of gloves. Hide's eyes snapped wide, as he stared up at the man.

Another blood sample? That meant more needles. He nearly cursed, but held back and sat up straighter, watching with narrowed eyes as Doctor Kanou slid the gloves on, taking out a dark box.

Hide turned slightly green, almost throwing himself off the bed and making a run for it. Doctor Kanou lowered himself onto the chair next to him, setting up the big-ass needle. Hide bit hard on his bottom lip, eyeing the end of it and pushing himself deeper against the plush pillows, allowing the man to take his arm. Despite the fact that he had done this so many times, he still felt sick to his stomach when the needle was brought close to his skin.

"I'm sorry about ruining your date!" he blurted out, snapping his head up to Ushio. His teeth began to chatter, and he released a loud wheeze when the needle finally pricked his skin, digging deeply into his arm.

Ushio shifted her eyes from her boss to the younger golden-haired male. "Don't worry. It wasn't much a date." She shrugged to herself, rubbing the back of her head. Her cheeks flushed as she crossed her arms and made a loud 'Um' sound, all while sucking on her bottom lip.

Hide frowned, glancing over to Doctor Kanou and noticing how his eyes turned dark, his lips pulling into a firm line. The blonde began to worry that something was wrong. He turned his eyes to the needle and felt his face grow white as a sheet, watching as the liquid was drained from his arm. He tried to swallow, but his throat felt like it was going to close up.

"Damn. Shouldn't have looked…" He thought to himself, cranking his head back around to look at his lap, his shoulders hunching.

"That didn't hurt, did it?" Hide let out a sigh of relief, and looked at Doctor Kanou, giving him his famous bright smile. His soft amber eyes dropped to the needle, watching as the old doctor removed it from his person and placed it back into the box, holding it close.

Hide stared at the box, his lips twitching as he opened his mouth to speak, only to let out a whimper instead. "Didn't hurt." He snorted to himself, rubbing his stiff neck. Damn straight it hurt. It stung like a 'female-dog'.

Hearing a soft chuckle, the golden-haired male lifted his head to look at the doctor, almost pouting at the amused smile spreading across his face. "Nagachika-san, I suggest you rest a lot. Your body needs to regenerate its lost energy," he explained smoothly, neatly writing words down into a black book that he seemed to pull out of thin air. His deep red eyes suddenly had an ire glint within them, making Hide's hairs stand on end. "Don't panic if you can't keep anything down. Your stomach, at the moment, is weak."

Titling his head in thought, Hide's raised his eyebrows. "What about my taste buds?" He questioned, remembering how his food had tasted strange; like cardboard and a dried out sponge. "I mean…I tried to eat earlier, but it tasted horrible even though Hikarushimi tried it and said it tasted fine..." He grumbled out. He'd really liked that sandwich. It was one of his favorites and now, he felt like it was ruined.

Doctor Kanou's lips twisted into a smooth smile, stretching the wrinkles across his face. His eyes twinkled and a strange expression flitted across his features, almost like he was pleased to know that he was having taste issues. "Yes, yes that is normal." He spoke calmly, proudly, and yet Hide felt his stomach twist uncomfortably, like he was being lied to…but why? Why would Doctor Kanou lie to him? It wasn't like his health was so important that he had to lie to him about it.

Shaking his head, Hide forced a strained smile at the doctor. "Your taste buds will eventually go back to normal," the old man spoke, and Hide swore he was talking through clenched teeth, though he was unsure because as soon as Doctor Kanou finished talking, he excused himself for another patient.

Yawning to himself, Hide allowed his head to flop forward tiredly. "So. When can I leave?" he questioned, tilting his head around and looking between the two doctors standing on either side of his bed. "How long have I been out for anyway?"

"Not long per say," Ushio answered, tilting her body and placing a hand on her hip. "A couple hours. Doctor Kanou said you may sign out whenever you like." She smiled, reaching over and giving the blonde a tight hug. "I was really worried about you, you know? I thought for sure something bad had happened."

Hide blushed and reached up, rubbing her shoulder while chewing his bottom lip, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry," he said softly, watching as she leant back and rubbed her neck in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to worry either of you." He beamed, looking towards Hikarushimi before scratching the back of his head and closing his eyes briefly. "Man. I must have really worked myself riddled, huh? Fainting is really becoming a part of me." Hide sighed, shrugging and stretching his arms.

Hikarushimi chuckled, sliding his hands into his pockets. Ushio and he shared a brief look between them before Hide could even notice, though if he had, he certainly would have become weary of the two, realizing that they were keeping something from him. But he didn't. "Yes. Paperwork's hard." He smirked and chuckled once more, stopping when Hide glared at him. "Okay, okay. How about taking a break?"

"What?" Hide gasped, eyes growing wide. "No. Don't fire me. Please!" He begged, craning his head around to look at Ushio for help.

Hikarushimi shook his head, placing a hand firmly onto the younger male's shoulder. "No, Nagachika-san. You aren't being fired. I was thinking that maybe you could try a hand at being one of my nurses. What do you say?"

"Nurse?" Hide repeated, his eyes growing wide and his mouth opening briefly before pressing together. Just as Hikarushimi began to take back his words, Hide shook his head. "No, no. I'd like the position." He said, his lips stretching into a wide, beaming smile. He found himself becoming incredibly happy, thrilled, feeling a spark in his stomach. This was it, this is what he's been waiting for! Hell, he would have bounced on the bed, if he hadn't noticed the incredibly amused expression across both the doctors.

The day progressed fairly well afterwards. It took Hide more time than necessary to sign out since the kind and cute lady behind the counter was obviously flirting with him, though he didn't notice it. As a result, Hide had just beamed brightly at her, which ended up with them having a nice long conversation. It only hit him that she had been flirting with him when he came to his flat door.

As soon as he laid his eyes upon the door, he was reminded of a certain ghoul that had found his way back into his life. His body shook with the memory of events flashing across his mind, reminding him of the things he still had to face head on. His stomach twisted and a dull throbbing sensation appeared directly in the middle of it. Hide frowned from the unusual feeling, and reached up, gently rubbing the surface of his stomach and deciding it had to be from nerves. Nerves caused by knowing that he was going to see the once black-haired man on the other side of the door. He found it funny that the only thing between them was a thin plank of wood.

His ears buzzed as all he heard was the thud of his heart beating, echoing off his semi-empty brain. Reaching up, he let out a soft whimper as he found his face going incredibly hot with each passing minute. Hide frowned deeply; he normally didn't get this flushed. Damn Kaneki. As soon as the thought passed his mind, he found himself turning even redder; all because of one stupid night. He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging on it lightly. He had left Kaneki this morning in his flat, and he had a feeling the Ghoul would still be there, waiting for him. Kaneki had been really opposed to him leaving the apartment, so he could only imagine what was awaiting him behind the nicely made door.

"Aww man…" He murmured to himself, rubbing his stomach. Lowering his hand, he gripped the door handle and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. After a few seconds, he turned the bell-shaped handle and pushed the door open, his soft amber eyes inspecting the room blankly, noticing how dark and lonely it looked. Normally it wouldn't have affected him; he had grown accustomed to it. After all, he had been alone for more than six months, but this time he had become saddened and lonely when he found that no one was there. Somebody was supposed to be there, right?

"K-Kaneki?" He called out, his voice cracking.

When got no reply, he struggled to prevent the whine from leaving his lips. Wasn't the ghoul supposed to be here? Searching his memory, Hide found himself growing pale, finding himself feeling quite stupid. Kaneki hadn't mentioned staying and waiting for him.

Chewing his bottom lip, Hide sighed deeply to himself, slowly shuffling through the entrance, and leaning against the door. Of course, why wouldn't Kaneki just leave again? He'd done it before, so why wouldn't he do it again? Maybe he should just get used to not having him around, because who knew if he would do it often? Would Kaneki simply disappear for months on end and return for a day before disappearing again?

He shook his head furiously, forcing himself to smile. "Kaneki probably has a good reason,: he muttered to himself. He breathed in deeply and carefully pushed himself off the closed door, removing his shoes and entering his home.

He allowed himself to yawn, tilting his head back and rubbing his itchy eyes. Hide eased his way through the flat, flickering the lights on as he shuffled along. He flushed when he entered the kitchen, remembering what had happened the night before.

Clenching his eyes shut and groaning to himself, he briefly wondered when he had turned into a blushing schoolgirl. He let out a soft hiccup, shaking himself out of his thoughts as he strolled across the small area, reaching up into the dark space of his cupboard. His used his hand to search for anything edible, anything he could keep down. He hadn't eaten since yesterday, and Doctor Kanou had said he should keep trying to eat, even if he did want to throw it back up. His stomach was weak; a side effect of the injection.

He tugged one of the items free from the shelves, lowering it and gazing at the crackers. Well, if he was going to test his supposedly weak stomach, then he'd better start with something easy to digest, as opposed to something heavy.

Resting against the counter, he carefully opened the packet and pulled out a cracker. His nose wrinkled from the bland smell as he rubbed it under his nose, before he sliding it into his mouth and chewing. His golden eyes widened as the bitter taste filled his mouth, similar to that of a dry sponge, not that he'd ever had eaten a dried sponge. He felt his stomach growl in discontent, and he felt his chest tighten. Forcefully, as if it was the hardest thing in the world, Hide swallowed the cracker. He stayed still, breathing deeply and clenching the side of the counter, glad that he'd at least gotten the food down.

Reaching up, he wiped his mouth using the back of his hand. "Coffee…" He murmured. Yes, coffee. He needed it. Rubbing his temples, he began to set up his kettle and setting it on boil, pausing when a paper caught his eye. Blinking at the note laying innocently on the counter, the blonde reached for the paper, his fingers trembling as they curled around it.

He pulled it close to his body, peering down at the incredibly neat handwriting, which he knew was Kaneki's. His soft eyes flickered across the words, as he felt his lips pull into a soft smile, while his cheeks flushed pink. He was just about to place it back onto the cool surface of his kitchen counter when more black ink caught his eye. Puzzled, he turned it over and let out a laugh at the what was written in the back.

"Next time, don't add milk. Ghouls prefer their coffee without it."

Hide chuckled, sighing to himself and shaking his head. At least he wasn't stupid enough to forget grinding the coffee beans. Though it made sense that ghouls wouldn't want milk in their coffee. Still smiling, he turned on the balls of his feet and hummed.

This time Kaneki hadn't just left. The ghoul had promised to come back as soon as he could and Hide knew for a fact that Kaneki didn't go back on a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well? What do you think? Yes, this will follow the anime while my other story will follow the manga. And I, as well as everyone else, was really disappointed in the fights. So I'm going to try and do the manga fights instead. 
> 
> No Kaneki next chapter!!!!!! GASP! Why? But there will be Hide wondering if Kanou is up to something...as he gets more injections. I think next chapter will be the last chapter of blondie being stabbed by needles. I think. I'm not sure....OH Eto shows up next chapter to speak with Hide. A cute little conversation between the two which will confuse the hell out of Hide. Yosh, they talk over coffee. What else? Ah Touka will show up too. But sorry guys, no Kaneki. TT.TT
> 
> Anyway, please-please comment. I'd like to know your opinion. Do you want more? Hehe~ I was gonna put this up on Fanfic but decided against it. I'm not sure if it was against the rules or not, so blah! 
> 
> For side-couples? I'm open to anything as long as it does not interferer with my OPT couple. Haha~. So yes. Suggestions for couples OPEN! 
> 
> Please comment, Kudos and Bookmark!


	3. Tomorrow Is Today and Tomorrow Is Yesterday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hideyoshi's given up on finding Kaneki. Finally deciding to try and live his own life then wasted it on looking for somebody who obviously doesn't want anything to do with him. Well, that's what he thought anyway, turns out he can't be anymore wrong. Two months later, a fresh-white haired Ghoul demands entries and he finds himself swept up in a world of true Ghouls and violence. Hideyoshi struggles to come to terms with the shocking twisted truth that had been done to his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! So sorry about the long wait...again. Hehe~ My beta works hard to make sure there isn't any mistakes, so she/he takes quite some time. Hehe~ But at the end, it's all worth it! Right guys! We'd prefer a perfect chapter then a mistake chapter! 
> 
> Do not worry, Hide will begin to throw up soon! Morning sickness! He's starting to feel sicky...hehe~ Poor Hide. I'm trying to add more pregnant things. It's will start to be right in front of Hide's face but since he is male, it won't cross his mind. Others (ghouls) will definitely know he with child before he knows. Hahaha! I'm so cruel to my baby...TT.TT 
> 
> Oh. Yes, lack of Kaneki this chapter, but do not worry, our sexy white haired ghoul will return next chapter! He'll be in most of the chapter, maybe the whole chapter. (Grins) depending on what you guys want. Want sexy Kaneki the whole chapter or only half? 
> 
> I have a lot of events planned out and all I can say is...I hope you enjoy it at least :)
> 
> Please give a massive thanks to my wonderful beta InfinitePanicAttacks33 for editing this. 
> 
> Warning...Slash. Fluff. MaleonMale. Gruesome, blood and guts. Oh and mustn't forget the connect of the story! MPreg!

Skin-prickling thunder echoed throughout the small room. A hissing sound erupted from the open window, forcing the crisp white blinds to shake. A crackling howl flowed through the air just as a certain dirty blonde rolled over, curling up even tighter from the throbbing pain that fluttered around in the bottom of his stomach. His soft golden hairs stood all over his body, and Hide allowed a yelp to erupt from his throat as he flung himself up into a sitting position. Panting, he trembled from the rush of cold air that filled his bedroom. Reaching up, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked out at his open window, before turning to look at his clock. Making a loud groan, he flopped back onto the bed, unaware that his left hand had moved to gently rub his stomach.

It was considerably early in the morning, barely 7:00 am. Hide wheezed tiredly and used his forearm to cover his face as he lay in a daze. It had been almost a month and a half since that faithful night with Kaneki, and he could still remember the words the ghoul had written to him before leaving. He had promised he would come back, even if it was for ten minutes or less. Kaneki had promised to come see him, though he hadn't exactly said when. Hide had a feeling deep in his chest that he would be seeing the white-haired male rather soon.

One month and two weeks since then, he had been waking up every morning at six with a stomachache and the overwhelming desire for something sweet, something cloy. Hide had tried all the sweet things he could find, well that wasn't true; he tried all the things he could afford.

Staring at his alarm clock, he wondered just how long he could get away with lying in bed before having to get up. He'd been finding it extremely difficult to get out of bed in the morning. He just wanted to lay there and try to go back to sleep again. Letting out a large yawn, he stretched across his soft bed before finally rolling over and throwing his legs over the side. His muscles strained from his weight, clenching and unclenching as he pushed himself up, and his knees buckled as he reached out to grip the drawer to keep himself balanced.

A sharp pain throbbed in his lower back, spreading deep within his weak muscles. Inhaling profoundly, Hide clenched his hands, his nails piercing his skin and drawing a little blood as he bit his lip.

He rode out the pain, nose flaring. "Damn…" He murmured, his shoulders relaxing and sagging as the twisting pain finally faded away. The blonde lowered his hand and gently rubbed his stiff stomach, feeling the surprisingly warm and very smooth surface underneath the thin material of his cotton pajama shirt. Groaning, Hide reached up and rubbed his sore eyes, licking his top lip and sighing to himself. He still had to report this to Doctor Kanou; the Doctor had suggested that Hide report to him whatever side effects the injection had. Every morning, as soon as he stepped out of his comfortable blankets, the same gut-wrenching pain flared up through his body, making him sometimes tear up. Manly tears! But tears nonetheless. Sighing, Hide breathed in relief, feeling the ache disappear from his body. Though, he knew it would just come raging back later in the day.

"This pain's gonna kill me," he huffed, glaring down at the papers Doctor Kanou had given him. He had a meeting with the old man later today, which was thankfully his day off, and so the blonde didn't have to stay in the hospital for long.

Despite the fact that he loved his job, adored it in fact, he couldn't help but feel like he was under a microscope; that everyone was watching him. Eyes were always on him, and he could feel them burning into him, getting much more intense over the past weeks. Other than that, he treasured work at the hospital, especially now that he was able to shadow Ushio and Hikarushimi. It was fulfilling to see how they worked and acted with their patients. Just last week, he even got to work with his first patient on his own without either one of the higher ups breathing down his neck.

Turning his soft amber eyes onto the glaring clock, he wailed to himself. It was barely seven in the morning, and his meeting was in the afternoon. Just what was he supposed to do until then? He continued rubbing his stiff stomach, noticing the small curve it had gained. Brushing it off, he turned around a little too fast for his liking, and felt his head become suddenly heavy. He felt a bit sickly, but he brushed it off and began to walk towards his bathroom.

"I'll shower first and then get breakfast," he hummed.

Standing underneath the soothing water, Hide sighed in pleasure. He gazed down at his body, and chewing the side of his cheek, he carefully began to wash himself. Everything was fine, until his stomach dropped and he groaned rather loudly. The heat of the water wasn't mixing very well with the heat that had begun to manifest in the pit of his stomach, crawling up his throat and making him gag loudly.

Leaning against the tiles of the shower, Hide bent his head and wheezed, his legs so weak that he was worried he might just drop the ground. Twitching, he rubbed his side, his fingers spreading out to the front of his stomach and feeling the warmth that seemed to the travel from the center of his slightly bigger-than-normal belly. Reaching up with trembling hands, he scrubbed his hair, rinsing it, and allowing the warm liquid to roll across his skin. His hair stood up on the back of his neck as goose bumps began to form, and tingles ran up his body.

Hide turned the shower off, relaxing against the tiles of his shower wall. He stayed still, relishing the coolness pressing against his back. Just recently he had begun to have odd spells at random where his body would become hot and he would feel chills course through him, followed by a deep ache in his bones, mostly around his lower back.

He stepped out of his tub, stretching his arms up and humming softly under his breath, making a few moans of pleasure at the pops that passed across his limbs.

Hide stumbled about his bedroom, dressing quickly, and almost catching his feet as he put on his jeans. He tugged on his favorite white shirt, frowning when he found how unusually tight it was. Shaking his head, he turned his attention to his partly-open window. The water rained down on the glass, creating beautiful patterns along its surface. He swore that just yesterday it had been a sunny day, the warmest it's ever been in years; even the birds had come out to sing. It was unbelievably cheesy, straight out of a Disney movie.

The small blonde shifted around his tiny apartment making coffee. He sniffed and moaned loudly at the lush scent that seemed to emanate from his kettle. It made his mouth water; drool nearly seeping from between his lips. Hide sighed and lifted a mug of coffee to his lips, his eyes fluttering closed briefly before he smiled. "Kaneki was right. It is better without milk." He chuckled to himself, taking another sip of it, surprisingly enjoying the way the back of his throat burned.

Hide nearly cried when he found the black liquid gone. He whimpered, looking down at his once full mug, frowning at how empty it looked, and at how he didn't have time to go make another one.

He might not be working at the hospital today, but he still had to put up those medical posters. He had been meaning to, honestly, but he just never got around to it. And when he said around to it, he meant he kept putting it off.

A few of the posters were scheduled to be pinned up near a coffee shop he had sworn never to step foot in again. He was secretly scared that he might run into one of the waiter ghouls.

Frowning deeply, Hide looked to the square-shaped shoulder bag sitting innocently on his kitchen table, packed to the brim with posters both big and small. Sighing heavily, he walked towards his table, fingering the strap before sliding it over his shoulder at an angle where it wouldn't constantly slap against him.

He began the surprisingly simple task of walking around Tokyo and pinning up posters. It was easy, minus the one child that thought it would be funny to rip a paper down, the dog that had somehow gotten its fangs onto a scroll, and some creep that seemed to follow him around the park briefly.

So yes, he had a very shocking morning, which left him with the need for a good cup of coffee. Giving a dazzling smile to the people passing him, the young male hummed underneath his breath as he walked along the heavy filled streets, pausing every now and then to look into the glass windows of the stores. He whistled to himself, finding that he was in a surprisingly good mood. He hadn't been this happy for a while now, not with how sick he had been feeling.

Puffing out his cheeks and wrapping his pale yellow jacket around himself a little tighter, he checked to make sure all the buttons were in place before tugging the white and blue striped scarf up over his slowly-turning-blue mouth. He shivered slightly at the cool wind and pulled down his white stocking hat over his ice-cold ears, crushing his golden hair against his face, forehead, and neck. He shifted his hospital poster bag, and begins to walk down the street of Kamii. He could locate his University at the bottom of the street, the many buildings of Kamii University stretching across the area amazingly. Truth be told, he was always at awe at how big and wide it was.

The dirty blonde paused mid-step, tilting his head back and staring up at the flashy buildings. It had been months since he'd last gone to class. He smiled, remembering the last time he was in a lecture. In the end, he had graduated at the top of his class, and he knew Kaneki would have been proud.

As soon as his friend passed his mind's eye, he smiled, remembering the time the two would spend out in the courtyard together, Kaneki reading one of his creepy books, and Hide trying to study before eventually dozing off. Of course, he would always be woken up in the most adorable way ever.

Smiling even wider, Hide sighed contently to himself. "So many happy memories…" He could feel buzzing warmth spreading from within himself. He and Kaneki had spent so much time together; this was even the place where he'd confessed to him. Hide felt his face flush as he remembered how nervous and shy Kaneki had been, trembling on the spot and playing with his fingers. He had always wondered why he'd confessed his feelings after apparent years of hiding them.

Hide grinned to himself, remembering how Kaneki had embarrassingly squealed out that he had been in love with Hide since they had been in high school, when he'd stood up for him from a few bullies. Some real nasty ones too. Kaneki wouldn't stop crying for hours because of them.

He shook his thoughts away, still smiling, and walked happily towards the buildings. It would be good to see the place that held so many special memories again.

He walked up to the gates, his eyes twinkling as he pictured himself and Kaneki when they were fourteen years old, sneaking through the entrance to snoop around the university. Kaneki had been surprisingly brave and had agreed to cutting class with him.

Hide chuckled under his breath, picturing Kaneki's face when he had run up to him that day, excitedly spilling his words. It was an understatement to say the that the university's security guards were surprised to find a pair of boys snuggled up together in a supply closet. The two had sneaked into the closet after Hide had a coughing fit, Kaneki having practically thrown the blonde in there to rest. Later, he'd told him that he himself had dozed off after Hide had fallen asleep. Even to this day, both would still receive the stink eye from the head security guard.

Scratching his pale skin, Hide walked through the entrance, giving his dazzling smile to the ones who noticed he was there and greeted him. Shifting his bag, he noticed that the posters for the winter fair were being pinned up. He checked the sky, snorting to himself. At least it had stopped raining.

Running his fingers through his golden hair and shifting his hat in the process, Hide pulled out the smaller posters and pinned them up around the school. Every now and then, he'd run into a few classmates, some of which seemed to still hold resentment towards him for earning the best marks. He grinned cheekily at one of them, watching as she flushed and scrambled away with her nose held high. Hide shook his head and turned around. Kamii University had so many memories, and everywhere he went, those memories would play out, as if he was seeing them through one large movie screen.

"If…only life was that easy…" he muttered to himself, his head dipping as he walked slowly along the university walkway. Everything had changed so much, and all he known no longer applied to his world. It was sad and painful, but it had been long since Hide had accepted it and chosen to adapt. It still stung, but he no longer allowed himself to be drawn into the past.

Though, apparently, the present still had things to throw at him. Right when he'd decided that the past should remain in the past, and that he would no longer scramble for it, the present sent him a wake-up call that not everything would stay in the past.

Kaneki had turned up after six months. It was still odd to think about. The once shy and midnight-haired man had quickly found him and reminded him that you could never turn your back on the past. Hide could only wonder what the future would hold now that everything seemed to be put in order.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, the blonde was unaware of the way his hand had gently began to rub his stomach. Tilting his head to the side with half-lidded eyes, Hide felt a cool chill run up his spine. His pale face grew pink as he found himself face to face with a pair of warm dark eyes.

A familiar smile was directed at him. "Kaneki…" he gasped, turning himself to fully face the poster pinned up on the university grounds. He looked so innocent there, young and kind. The recognizable smile on his face and eyes wide with surprise from the sneak attack he'd been given.

The Kaneki in the picture had most definitely not been expecting the blonde to push a camera in his face and take a photo. Kaneki, at the time, had been reading one of those creepy books while at the same time he'd been talking to Hide about a new project. That smile on his face was a smile he always seemed to have for his beloved books; it was also the same one he would give Hide, though sometimes with a different contrast behind them. He could feel butterflies form in his stomach just by looking at the previous face of his love. Kaneki had changed so much; he was no longer the same person that he was in the photo.

Shaking his head a little too fast and cracking his neck as a result, Hide stepped up to the poster and reached out to it. He hesitated briefly, his fingers brushing against the frozen cheek on the paper before he slid them under the edges and began to pull it down, removing it from the wooden wall and carefully, as to not damage the sides, beginning to roll it up. Kaneki wasn't missing. He simply no longer wished to attend things like school, and Hide had decided to respect that.

"Mr. Nagachika, you can't just take that down!" A student from behind him gasped. He was one of the first years at the university, who had quickly agreed to help Hide pin up the hospital posters. One couldn't help but wonder how somebody as smart as the blonde could be so dense when it came to other's obvious attraction towards him.

Hide tilted his head and looked at the male over his shoulder. He shot him his sunshine smile, making the student blush brightly before giving him a thumbs-up.

"Nonsense. We need to put these where they stand out the most," he explained happily, masking the sadness that bubbled from within him with another bright smile. Rather, he focused on pinning up one of his larger and wider hospital posters. Humming lowly under his breath, he leant backwards, watching as the first year scrambled off to pin up more posters. He shook his head and chuckled under his breath. He spent way too much time at the hospital with all the older people; it felt good to be around people his own age.

"Hideyoshi?" A familiar voice called. At hearing his full first name, the blonde cringed, but nonetheless turned his head to address whoever had called for his attention. The voice itself was deep yet feminine. He had heard it quite a few times but he couldn't put his finger on it. It made him suddenly self-conscious, and made him double-check if he'd done anything worth getting punched for.

Turning his warm chocolate eyes to the person slowly and wearily walking up to them, he found it was a girl. She was roughly the same height as him and Hide wondered if maybe he had shrunken a few inches since the last time he had seen her. With her short purple hair and a single blue visible eye, Kirishima Touka stared, no, glared at him. Her own brown and pink striped scarf hung over her pink-coated shoulder.

"Touka-San…" Hide murmured in surprise.

He hadn't seen the woman in months, since he had decided to give up on looking for Kaneki. Hide remembered how he was treated in Anteiku. It was like he was being judged by the ghouls that worked there, not that he'd ever let them know he knew what they were. He got the impression that they didn't want anybody to know, nor did they want him there.

Nervously, he turned his eyes from the woman. She was giving him a look that just screamed criticism. "Oh. Want to get some coffee?" He finally spoke up with a bright smile, remembering the cafeteria sold coffee.

Touka tilted her head thoughtfully. Her lips pressed together tightly, before her blue eyes flashed and she nodded her head. "Alright," She grunted, her tone firm. Hide grinned and scratched the back of his head, wondering why he had ever been attracted to her when she was so terrifying.

He grinned nervously, letting out a dry laugh as he eyed the woman behind the cafeteria counter and accepted the two steamy cups of coffee. He twirled on the balls of his feet. "Err, here you are. Touka-San." He handed the cup to the young woman sitting at the polished white table.

"Thank you very much," she replied, nodding her head and pulling the cup close to her body, sniffing the liquid. Hide watched the brief expression of pleasure flicker across her face. He'd always wondered why ghouls could only enjoy coffee. There had to be other 'human' foods they could eat right? He wondered if they could eat a form of food that was heavily flavored to taste like coffee. Maybe he could test his theory out the next time Kaneki decided to visit him.

"Ah, so then, you're going to sit in for Kamii?" Hide questioned, pushing the very amusing thought away to pay attention to what the female had said. It didn't take a genius to wonder why she had decided to apply for this university. Hide suppressed a frown, wondering if she had seen Kaneki before and after he had left.

Touka sipped her coffee, her shoulders hunching. A soft sound vibrated from her throat and Hide smiled to himself. Ghouls really did love dark coffee, didn't they?

"Yes, so I'm here having a look around," She said calmly, lifting her blue eye to the blonde. "Are you coming back next year? I heard that you had graduated last year, but hadn't take up a second one. Why is that?"

"You're very observant," Hide hummed, tapping his fingers against the table's surface. "I was thinking about continuing my degree in a medical field. I'm actually shadowing Doctor Kanou at the moment," he admitted proudly, as the doctor was a very highly respected man. It was difficult to even get accepted to work in the hospital he ran. It had never occurred to the male why Doctor Kanou taken such an interest in him. Hide had assumed it was because of his marks. After all, he did put in a lot of time and effort in studying for his exams. Thankfully, it had all paid off in the end.

"The medical field? So you want to be physician?" Touka asked, closely watching the way Hide drunk his own coffee. She nearly blushed when he looked towards her once more and almost caught the strange way she was looking at him. Thankfully, he didn't seem to catch her and she was able to pass it off with a sip of her drink.

Blinking blankly at the woman and feeling a little uncomfortable under her gaze, Hide nodded. "Yes. Before my father passed away, he was a physician in the fourth ward. It was a dangerous place to be, but he set a place up to help people. Back then, it had been a home to both ghouls and people," he explained warmly, looking back down at his cup and seeing his own reflection within the liquid. He could feel Touka's burning gaze once more, most likely analyzing him again. "I've always wanted to follow in his footsteps and help as many people as I can. I don't care if it's humans I help or ghouls." He chuckled to himself, practically tasting the surprise coming off the other. "And you?"

Shaking off her shock, Touka relaxed in her chair. "My friend Yoriko-Chan is pursuing a career as a chef. I thought about pursuing a cooking career too, but instead I've decided to open up my own coffee shop," She said this quietly, shifting the cup of coffee in her hands as she spoke.

"Like Anteiku?" Hide asked, tilting his head in thought. He switched his attention from the woman to look around the university. He had heard there were many coffee stores and even restaurants for ghouls, so one more probably wouldn't make much of a difference. "That's pretty cool. What would you call it?"

Touka's eyes grew even darker. "I haven't decided on a name yet," she admitted, leaning back in her chair and tilting her head up. Her eyes flickered off to the side briefly, before flickering back to the human in front of her.

"Kaneki…what was Kaneki like in the past?" She questioned, relaxing and changing her expression to one full of warmth as she thought of the once-human ghoul.

"It used to be that after school, and when we had days off, he was always reading books," Hide murmured thoughtfully. A smile appeared across his face as he lowered his head, allowing his mind to reveal hidden memories that he had pushed to the side. "He wasn't exactly a morning person either. One time, I got up super early to get a book for him. You should have seen him that morning. His hair was all over the place, it was the most messy I've ever seen it. His left side was completely flat while his other side was spiked out in almost every direction. He was pretty grumpy then too. That was, until I told him I got him a new book. He even started crying."

He chuckled, remembering the look on Kaneki's face when the two were sixteen years old. Other than when they had sleepovers, it was the first time Hide had gone to his home that early in the morning. He hadn't seen Kaneki's room so messy before. "…But he was a little bit different after his mum passed away. Ever since, he always seemed a little lonesome somehow. I tried my best not to leave him on his own. We were always together. It's odd now not to have him nagging at me like an old grandma."

His soft amber eyes lowered as he remembered Kaneki's mum. She was nice and kind, though Hide himself didn't have a clear memory of Yuki, as he had met her when he was six years old and she'd passed away when he was nine. Even so, he knew that she was the reason why Kaneki had been so gentle and kind. He wondered if things would have been different if Yuki hadn't died. Would Kaneki still have turned out this way after becoming a ghoul? Or would he have become something else?

Hide still remembered the words Yuki had told him; A kind person finds happiness with love and by becoming the person who gets hurt, rather than the one hurting others. He had heard that phrase once from Yuki and a few times from Kaneki when the two were growing up together. He remembered the first time Yuki had said it to him, when she had thanked him for being Kaneki's friend.

Kaneki was the type to stay as a wallflower so he didn't have any people to talk to, and Yuki was happy to know that Kaneki had attracted at least one person. Hide wondered what she would say now knowing that Kaneki had all these friends. He would tell her that she was right about him growing to love Kaneki more than anything in world. Yuki was a very intelligent and wise woman, so it wouldn't be very surprising for her to know what his and Kaneki's relationship would grow into.

When Kaneki had first told him those words, Hide had made the boy cry and smile at the same time. He had told him 'If you're the person who will be hurt all the time, then I'll be person who will always comfort you.' That had made Kaneki turn a whole new shade of red.

Shaking his head, and pushing away his thoughts, Hide smiled. "Come to think of it, he once had the lead part in a play! He was surprisingly good, too. He was quite an imposing presence on the stage. Whether it was him playing a part, or him putting on a mask, he always seemed to saddle things all to himself."

"Maybe he's out reading a book or something, so I'm sure he's fine," Touka suddenly blurted. Hide stared at her blankly, noticing how out of character Touka was being. She was trying to make him feel better, obviously not knowing that Kaneki had come to see him, something which he didn't plan on telling her. Not that he didn't trust her, he just found her scary.

Smiling warmly, Hide shook his head and quickly downed the rest of his coffee before standing up. "Well. I've got a meeting with Doctor Kanou, so I've got to get going," he said, curling his fingers around the strap of his bag.

Touka quickly stood, still holding her paper cup, hardly filled with any more of the coffee. "You've stopped coming to Anteiku. It's been a few months since the last time you've stepped into our store."

"Oh. Err, I've been busy," Hide lied, forcing a strained smile as he checked all the buttons on his coat. "I'll come in when I've got time," He lied again, twisting on the balls of his feet and preparing to walk down the road to the familiar hospital.

Hide smiled, taking one step towards the door before looking back at the woman. "Touka-San, you know what Kaneki had a habit of doing? Whenever he was hiding something, he'd hold his chin, like this," he explained, reaching up and rubbing his chin while smiling widely. "But don't tell him I said so." And with that, he began to walk away, leaving the female ghoul behind.

Hide frowned to himself, lowering his head. Why hadn't Kaneki at least let his ghoul friends know he was okay? Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he tilted his head back and looked up, seeing the top of the hospital close by.

He wondered what Doctor Kanou wanted to talk about.

Touka frowned and crossed her arms, obviously seeing through his lie. She sighed to herself, reaching up and cupping her nose. It was odd, she smelled something abnormal flittering from Hideyoshi. It was a unique smell, a smell she hadn't ever smelt before, which was surprising considering her experience. Shaking her head, she shrugged to herself. It must be a new human food that he had eaten before running into her.

Hide groaned loudly to himself. He wanted another coffee even though he'd just had one moments before. He felt like he would die without one. He decided to try and think about something other than the mouth-watering drink. He missed Kaneki. Hide was surprised at how many people cared about his once quiet friend, and it amazed him that he was able to make friends with somebody like Touka. Snorting to himself, he shook his head as the darker thoughts passed through his mind. Thoughts like the fact that Kaneki had traded him in for the ghouls back at Anteiku.

Hide easily moved down the familiar street, looking around as he remembered how he and Kaneki would walk about, talking about the most stupid and strangest things in the world. Conversation consisting mostly of those gruesome novels Kaneki loved to read way too much.

Sighing to himself, Hide began to walk towards the large, almost flashy building waiting a few streets down. He swiftly walked across the road without a care. As soon as he stepped foot on the other side, he suddenly felt the golden hairs stand up all over his body. He felt eyes drilling into him.

Frowning deeply, he turned his eyes around, searching for whoever was watching him. Seeing no one, he shrugged to himself and carried on his way to the hospital. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he entered the building happily. Hide stalked towards the sign in area and pulled at the card hanging loosely around his neck. Carefully, he ran the end of it along the glowing slot and smiled happily as the lights flashed, signaling that he had signed in.

Hide shivered, flickering his eyes around as a felt a sudden chill make it's way down his spine, but shrugged it off as his imagination. He was unaware of the bandaged ghoul on the rooftop, following him for as long as it could, before settling on top of the building across from the hospital, awaiting his exit.

The paranoia Hide felt made him feel unsettled. "I'm losing my mind," he whimpered, reaching up to fix his hat, carefully taking it off and tucking it into his coat pocket. No matter how hard he looked, no matter how much he checked, he never spotted anyone watching him.

The sick feeling rolled through his body and Hide groaned to himself, rubbing his hands against his face as he rested his back against the cool metal of the elevator, listening to the soft beeps as it passed floors.

Hide looked up as the heavy doors slid open and he was met with the eerily silent hallway of the tenth floor. Gulping, he pushed himself off the wall and slowly shuffled through, checking to see if there were any doctors, but finding none.

Rubbing his stomach, Hide frowned deeply at feeling it twist somewhat painfully. He turned his head to the side and looked at the double doors that led to Doctor Kanou's office, where the meeting was supposed to be held. He could only wonder what the old man wished to talk about.

Swallowing the large lump in his throat, he bravely wracked his fist again the polished wood. Mentally listing all his problems, Hide pushed the door open without a second thought.

Hearing the familiar voice on the other side of the door, he allowed the doors to swing closed behind him. The old, smiling doctor was sitting behind his large deck. He was working, writing neatly on a large stack of papers.

"Ah, Hideyoshi. I was just beginning to worry where you had gotten off to." He shuffled through the papers on his desk, and glanced up at the young man from the corner of his eye before stacking them to the side. "Ah, the reason why I called you here was about your reports," he spoke, pulling out a familiar sheet of paper and running his old eyes across it.

"Oh? Have I put something wrong?" Hide grinned nervously, tugging on the ends of his sleeve, and settling down in the chair across the doctor. He gripped his knees so hard that his knuckles turned pure white and his chest tightened with worry. "What do I have to do?" he questioned, eager to fix any error he had accidently created.

"Ah, no, no." Doctor Kanou sent the much shorter blonde a cunning and charming smile. "There are just a few facts I'd like to formalize," he hummed out, pulling out a brand new sheet of paper and pen. "You've written in your two week report that you still have trouble eating. That everything you put into your mouth tastes different. Does food still taste like this?"

Hide rubbed his hands together, looking off to the side. "Err, yes. Food still tastes….flavorless…" He murmured awkwardly. "I'm able to get some food now, but I still feel sick. I sometimes feel like I'm about throw up. Though…I suddenly have a big fondness for coffee," he hummed, smiling brightly and rubbing his fingertips together. His smile grew even wider as he thought about a cup of coffee. He'd do anything to taste the black bitter liquid, which was odd as he had hated it a few months ago.

Doctor Kanou raised his eyebrow and wrote something down. "I see. So you can't eat anything without feeling the need to vomit?" he questioned, looking across the desk to the blonde as he wrote. Hide nodded his head with an even more awkward smile. "Okay. I see…" He said, writing more words across the paper. "Anything else? What about the painful bursts you've been having? Do you still have them?" Hide nodded in response, running his hand through his golden hair. "We're able to make a subset that will help with your defensive system."

Reaching his hands out and lacing them together, the doctor leaned against the desk and tilted his head thoughtfully. "Another shot," he explained slowly, smirking at the blank expression Hide gave him. "The subset that will be injected into your body will attack the infection you might have conjured up, and it'll heal you."

Hide groaned loudly with woe. Shots, needles and injections. He'd never had this many when he was kid, at a time when he was prone to being sick. Sighing to himself, he eyed the old man closely, searching for any hidden secrets in his eyes, but getting a reassuring smile in return. Hide groaned loudly to himself again and finally nodded. "Okay! So when will I have it?"

Doctor Kanou smiled and reached for the box that held the injection. Hide once again resisted the urge to face palm. It was like all this was planned! Damn it. Stupid injections! He stared at the needle, his face growing pale. Gulping, he lightly scratched the side of his head in thought. "Um, sure. Okay." He grinned, twitching at the very thought of needles as he rolled up his sleeve.

Tugging out a pair of clean rubber gloves, Doctor Kanou slipped them on and peered at the anxious blonde. He carefully removed the lid and pulled out the clear liquid-filled needle, holding it out wearily to Hide. Taking the blonde's arm, he brought the needle close, making him tremble as soon as it touched the surface of his skin. Hide couldn't help but wince as it sliced through. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, his eyes clenched shut as his arm quickly started to burn and sting.

"That didn't hurt. Did it?" Doctor Kanou asked, making Hide let out a breath of relief. His soft amber eyes dropped to the needle, watching as the old Doctor removed it from his person and placed it back into the box, holding it close.

Rubbing the reddish patch on his arm, Hide smiled weakly to himself before shaking his head, thankful.

Sighing to himself, Hide exited the office. He always felt so small in front of Doctor Kanou, as if the man was up to something, but he knew that was impossible. Doctor Kanou had been anything but spiteful towards Hide, so he couldn't have caused these pains on purpose could he?

Feeling himself shiver, the blonde looked at the oak doors, his stomach flipping as he stared at them. A sickly buzz filled his ears and his heart seemed to speed up. Did Doctor Kanou do this on purpose to him?

Hide had been given so many injections. Could Doctor Kanou be using them to make him sick? If so, then why? What was the whole point of making him sick, when so far nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary? Feeling like the walls were closing in on him, Hide shook his head and groaned to himself.

"I'm thinking way too much into this…" He grumbled, remembering the difficulty he'd been experiencing these past few nights. He must've been overthinking things because of the sleepless nights. Doctor Kanou did say he might have a few side effects from the vaccine he had a couple months ago. That was probably the cause.

"There isn't anything vile behind Doc's actions," Hide thought, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. Even so, as the heavy doors of the elevator closed, Hide couldn't shake off that cunning smile the doctor always seemed to reserve for him. A small voice in the back of his head whispered to him that something wasn't right, that something was wrong, but Hide brushed it off.

It was an understatement to say that he was relieved to make it out of the hospital. In fact, he'd even made a cheer with a little dance, but when he gained a few stares from the passing citizens, he flushed and stiffly walked off. "I thought I spoke to myself about that…," The blonde thought to himself, kicking a small pebble out of his way as he walked and watching it bounced across the newly repaired pavement.

Hide let out a soft groan, his body feeling oddly heavy. It was difficult to lift one foot, but he forced himself to climb the stone steps leading up to his apartment building anyway. He could go for a long shower and then sleep, and maybe even dinner if he could keep it down. He felt like he was starving, beyond hungry.

Hide felt relief fall onto his shoulders when his apartment door came into view. He reached up and brushed his fingers through his blonde hair, whining when he felt beads of liquid on his forehead.

"Sweat…" He muttered thoughtfully, lowering his hand to look at the sticky texture on his skin. "…Sweat…when did I begin to sweat?" the golden-haired male pondered, his lips setting into a deep frown. He didn't sweat. It was apparently one of the great perks of being born from a family like the Nagachikas. Hide had never sweated so much in his life before. He felt like he had a bucket of cool water dumped onto himself. "I need a shower…"

He quickly opened the door and made his was in, walking towards his bathroom. He carefully began to remove his clothing, feeling horrible, disgusting. It was something he'd never felt before, and it was draining his muscles of energy, making him want to throw up. It was beyond disgusting.

He let out a sigh of pleasure when the hot water seeped down onto him, immensely soaking his skin and washing away the grit and dirt. Hide rested himself back against the cool tiles, and he lifted his arms to watch as the soap ran down his limbs and dripped down. It was then that the young man noticed something, something that wasn't there before; there was a soft brownish strip.

He lifted his hand and traced it as it stretched over his stomach, pressing his finger pads against the hardened surface. A frown settled over his face as Hide remembered having seen this before, maybe in one of those medical text-books he'd studied. The patch itself didn't feel any different to the rest of the tanned skin. It felt normal but it didn't look it. Raising a golden eyebrow, Hide curled his lips tightly together and inhaled deeply, his fingers pausing along the strip before he puffed out his cheeks. "Probably another side effect," he grumbled, shaking his head. "Or some kind of skin rash most likely caused by sweat." With that thought, Hide turned off the hot water and stepped out of the tub.

Hide found himself flushing from the cool air that caressed his skin. Normally it wouldn't affect him, but for some reason it was particularly bothersome today. He couldn't help but wonder when his skin had gotten so sensitive, so delicate that even the slightest cold air made him shudder on the spot from pleasure. For the first time, Hide was glad he was alone. "Imagine how embarrassing it would be if somebody found out about this?" he murmured under his breath, trying to not imagine what would happen.

Grabbing a towel, he began to dry himself off. His body twitched and shuddered under the towel as he wrapped it around himself tightly. He sucked his bottom lip, beginning to change into his sleepwear of an oversized white shirt with a pair of pale blue boxers. Nothing fancy, something plain, it was good enough to sleep in at least.

Once he was finished, Hide reached for the door handle and opened it, staring into the cold and lonely apartment. Swallowing the large lump in his throat, he stepped out of the bathroom and began to make his way to the kitchen. His stomach growled loudly, desperate for some food, yet unsure of what he could eat.

"When was the last time I had eaten?" Hide wondered, stretching his legs and reaching into the cupboards. He took out a jar and some bread, and placed them onto the countertop. When he was done putting his snack together, he stood, just staring and unsure of how long he stayed that way, before he picked it up and lifted it to his mouth. He sunk his teeth into the softness and made a gagging sound from the back of his throat, feeling the bitterness fill his mouth. It was bad, but it was bearable. Hide pinched his nose and forced himself to swallow, feeling his throat vibrate and burn with sickness, but managing to keep it down. Again and again, he bit into the snack, forcing the food to go down.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, he finished the badly made sandwich. He leant against the counter, his head bowed down as he panted, sucking in air as deeply as he could. The bright side? At least he isn't hungry anymore. Leaning backwards, he gently stroked the surface of his stomach and pouted, wondering why it was so hard to eat.

"You know, it would be easier to eat that with coffee," a voice suddenly spoke, making his hair stand on end. The voice was feminine and sugary sweet. It was unusual, and it was one he had never heard before.

Hide spun on the balls of his feet, his warm chocolate eyes searching his apartment, looking for the intruder. It wasn't too hard to do being that the person's bright, hot-pink cloak easily gained his attention. She was odd and strange, not to mention short. She was sitting on the oak table in his living room, knees curled underneath her, and giving Hide the impression that she was probably a girl. Her back was arched forward and she leant against the table with her elbows, fingers laced together and chin laying on top of them. Underneath her cloak, she wore a tattered dress and a rabbit-like hood over her head. Her entire body was wrapped in crisp white bandages, and all that was visible were the two large pools of black staring across at him.

"Just thought you'd want to know," she purred, leaning her head to the side and giggling.

"Coffee," Hide repeated, glancing back at his kettle and frowning. Why didn't he think of that? It surprisingly made sense considering his sudden strong liking for coffee. A dopey smile appeared on his face at the thought of the black bitter liquid. He could go for a cup right about now. He shifted on the spot, moving his weight from one foot to the other, and beginning to reach towards his kettle. "Coffee…would you like some?" he snapped out of his thoughts, turning to look at the woman, calmly speaking to her as if it didn't even bother him that an abnormal being had made its way into his apartment.

And the peculiar thing? The woman didn't seem fazed by it either. A large smile appeared across her bandaged face, causing them to twist around her lips. "Of course," she replied childishly.

Hide nodded his head, a dazzling bright smile on his face. He turned to his counter and pulled out two mugs. He wasn't even worried that he turned his back onto the un-human being sitting behind him, it didn't even bother him that she had the power to hurt him, to kill him in an instant. She most likely didn't even care what happened to him, but a small voice whispered in the back of his head not to worry, that she couldn't hurt him. The voice whispered warmly that everything would be fine and so, he made coffee. Hide pulled out the milk and frowned, remembering the note. Ghouls preferred their coffee without milk. He wondered if that would make his coffee taste better.

Placing the mugs onto the table, Hide eased himself onto the other side of it. "Thank you," the woman hummed, feigning innocence. She shuffled on the spot and pulled out an odd pink straw. Hide stared at it, noticing that it was one of those long curly ones for kids.

"It's easier for me to drink it this way," she shrugged, slipping the end of straw in between two bandages on her face. Hide watched as she sucked up the coffee, thinking that she would burn her mouth, but shockingly coming out unfazed. A soft popping sound erupted from the bandaged mouth as she rocked herself away from the mug briefly. "Something's missing, isn't it?"

Hide blinked, tilting his head back at the mysterious woman. He lowered his own coffee and pondered. "Hm? You mean the coffee? Now that you mention it, yeah. I thought maybe it was the milk I kept adding. Sure the coffee tastes better, but it still tastes…I don't know."

"It tastes sweet, but at the same time, it is not," the woman sighed, eyes closing briefly before she put her hand into her pink pocket and pulled something out. It was small, so small that Hide couldn't see it with her hand closed. She reached across the table and revealed what seemed to be sugar cubes. "Adding these will…spice it up some more."

"Cubes?" he wondered and reached out, picking one of them up. He held it up to the light to inspect it, noticing the way the stranger dropped a cube into her own mug and stirred it with the straw. Blinking, Hide reached for a spoon, and proceeded to drop the cube into the bitter liquid, watching as it began to melt into the coffee. Stirring it with the spoon, he lifted the mug, and sipped it before gasping. "It's delicious!" he gasped, eyes glowing as he took another gulp. Almost immediately, his mood changed and he pursed his lips as he tilted his head thoughtfully. "You're a ghoul, aren't you?"

Pulling away from her own mug of coffee, the woman turned her attention to the blonde. "Yes. I'm a ghoul. Are you afraid?" she questioned, rocking forward and peering closely at Hide to see his reaction.

"No. Not really." Hide shrugged. "Are you a bad ghoul?" he questioned, tapping his fingers against the oak table. He wondered why such a powerful being would waste their precious time on somebody like himself.

"There's no such thing as good and bad ghouls," she murmured joyfully. "We are all one in the same, and there is nothing different about any of us."

Hide raised an eyebrow, his mind reeling as he tried to make sense of what the ghoul had just said. "But…ghouls murder, they kill innocent lives. That's why everyone is afraid of them…you do understand that, right?"

"We do not murder with intent. It is not murder if there is no intent," she explained, drinking more of her own coffee before finally carrying on with the rest of her sentence, "It's either feed or starve. We don't have any choice. We kill because we must survive." Her voice no longer carried a playful tone. Instead, it was so serious, that Hide felt himself tremble on the spot.

"But there are ghouls who kill for fun. There are those who won't stop killing and eating," he interjected, frowning deeper.

"That is true, but they are the lesser ones." She yawned, not really bothered with those other ghouls, giving Hide the impression that she didn't care about them. "The unnecessary ghouls. They are not needed in this world or the next." She shrugged and mimicked him by resting her cheek against her palm, stirring her coffee with the straw. "Then there are ghouls like myself, ghouls that have two starving wolves inside of them. One is angry and fueled by destruction, while the other is full of kindness and warmth. Everyday they are fighting, tearing into each other, but the strongest isn't the one that's stronger. It is the one you feed."

Hide sat, listening intently. Wolves? Everyone has two wolves inside of them? That was one way of describing a ghoul's instincts. Hide couldn't help but wonder which one Kaneki fed. "What do you want exactly? Why go through all of this?"

"I want nothing, which is the same as everything," she hummed cheerfully once again, teasing him with her words. Nothing she was saying was making sense to him. It made his head throb, it was almost like she was…

Warm brown eyes widened. Hide's lips spread and he let out a soft gasp. "You're talking in riddles!" he smiled brightly, mentally slapping himself on the back for catching it. How could he not have noticed it before? He had the highest IQ in his class! He honestly should have been able to catch onto that.

The female ghoul giggled with glee. Hide opened his mouth and rocked slightly on the spot, preparing to speak, when he was interrupted by a masculine voice.

"Eto. It is time."

The female ghoul, now identified as Eto, tilted her body. She looked over her shoulder at the open window, the night sky glowing beautifully beyond the glass.

"Hai!" she called out in a sing-song voice. She pushed herself off from her sitting position, and held out her arms on either side of her body, swaying on the balls of her feet and clapping her hands. "Thank you for the hospitality!"

Eto slid her hand into her pocket, and searched around before pulling out a small brown package. She turned it over in her bandaged hands, running her thumb along the brown paper surface. "Here, more sugar cubes," she cooed, placing the thin package down on the table. "Remember to eat your food with coffee, and make sure you put in two cubes. It'll make it easier for your stomach, but eventually you'll have to eat something else."

Hideyoshi blinked his amber eyes in confusion, "Eventually I would have to eat something else?" he wondered to himself. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He watched as Eto gracefully climbed onto the window seal, twirling around to wave goodbye at him happily.

"Nagachika-San, tomorrow is today and yesterday is tomorrow," and with that, she stepped backwards and let herself drop, exiting his home.

Hide released a strangled sound and ran towards his window, peering down and expecting to find Eto lying flat against the ground with her limbs spread out wide, but was shocked to find nobody outside his apartment. The area was empty; it was like nobody had been there in the first place. Hide pressed his lips together and shuddered on the spot, slowly leaning away from the window. It hadn't been the most shocking thing he'd seen ghouls do, so it shouldn't faze him so much.

"Tomorrow is today and yesterday is tomorrow…?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...what do you think?
> 
> Damn! I love writing Eto! She was just so fun! Do you guys like her riddles? A cookie for whoever can figure out what she was trying to tell Hide? Yes-Yes, Eto knows he's pregnant. She can just tell straight off the bat. Why? Well, since she's been a half-breed all her life, I like to think she can smell when a human (girl or boy) is pregnant with a ghoul. Yup, Eto is very interested in our sunshine boy and no, she doesn't know Kaneki is the papa. I think Eto is more interested in the fact Hide is male and pregnant. She'll...stalk him a little every now and then, just to check up on him. Ah, Kaneki probably won't be able to tell quite yet as unlike Eto, he wasn't born a half-breed. Get it? But he'll be able to tell something's off, but he won't know what yet. 
> 
> Oh...what do you think about Touka? Like it? 
> 
> Anyway, please-please comment. I'd like to know your opinion. Do you want more? Hehe~ 
> 
>  
> 
> Please comment, Kudos and Bookmark!


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